I'll Take the Force of the Blow
by Safaia
Summary: Moira fired seven bullets on the beach that day but the sixth changed everything. However, they forget that just because they are hiding they cannot be found and that fear makes rational men do desperate things.


**I'll Take the Force of the Blow**

_Present_

The missiles were high in the air soaring toward some humans that had decided that he and half a dozen innocent, more or less, mutants deserved to die. Erik could not stand the idea that these people somehow thought they had the right to end his life simply because of what he was. The tattoo on his arm seemed to burn with the memory of the camps and it turned his stomach at the thought of being a lab rat again. The thought of the kids being exposed to that made his heart start pounding but it was the thought of Charles being exposed to someone like Shaw that made Erik's blood run cold. Erik knew he could survive that again and he had some faith in one or two of the kids but for some reason he could not see Charles coming out even remotely the same person. He was not going to let these humans ruin his friend.

Moira, for all the use that she was here, was walking toward him with intent and the moment her gun moved Erik knew what she was planning. She fired five shots at him and as Erik deflected them he wondered why she even bothered. Firing a gun at him was pointless but he did not blame her. She was protecting her own race. The sixth bullet seemed no different from the others but a grunt of pain was enough to distract him. The entire world slowed down as Erik turned around.

Charles stood nearby looking down at his stomach as if he was not entirely sure what had just happened. The blue and yellow jumpsuit was beginning to stain red as Erik realized that he had deflected that sixth bullet and it had struck his friend. There was a seventh bullet but he hardly heard it fire and for half a moment Erik thought he felt some sort of pain but that did not matter because Charles was crumpling to the ground. Erik scrambled over and fell to his knees, placing a hand over the wound.

"Charles, Charles, hang on," Erik managed to say but there was already so much blood staining the white sand. Charles reached up and touched Erik's cheek and there was blood on his fingers, Erik could feel it on his skin, and he thought for sure he was going to be sick. He had done this, he had hurt his best friend, he had Charles' blood all over his hands.

"Please, Erik, take it off," Charles managed to say and for some reason nothing else mattered right now. It did not matter that mere moments ago they had been willing to beat each other with their fists or that Charles was trying to remove the helmet to take control because there was blood everywhere. Erik moved to toss the damned thing aside but when he started to move his arm he realized that a bullet, the seventh bullet, had passed through his shoulder; he had had no idea. Using his left hand Erik pushed the helmet aside and let it roll across the sand now stained with Charles' blood.

"Hang on, okay? I'm going to get you help and we're going to have a long fight about all of this," Erik said though he was not sure who exactly he was trying to convince. Charles' hand was on his cheek and it moved to his temple, smearing blood as it went.

_Sleep_, Charles' voice said in his head and before Erik could protest the entire world faded to black.

_Past_

The first time Erik met Charles Xavier he was conflicted about how he felt for the man. On one hand he now knew that he was not alone, that there were other people in the world like him, and that brought a sense of comfort that Erik had not known existed anymore. It was like some great weight was lifted from his shoulders the moment Charles said 'you're not alone' because he had always been alone. Ever since that gunshot rang out and took the only family he had left, when Shaw took his mother from him, there had been no one in his life.

However Erik could feel the submarine getting further and further away as he continued to tread water. In that moment he resented Charles Xavier for getting in the way of what he had to do. This was the closest he had gotten to Shaw since he had escaped all of those years ago and what right did this stranger have to get in the way of that? Now he could feel the man that destroyed his childhood getting away and there was nothing he could do.

"I can help you find him again," Charles said suddenly as the boat moved closer to them. "I can read your mind and you're currently projecting quite loudly. I can hear you and I'm telling you, I can help you find him again, Erik."

"I don't think my head is a wise place to be," Erik said but Charles smiled at him and for some reason it looked a little sad.

"I'm afraid it's a little late for that," he said.

"Charles! Charles, are you okay?" a female voice called from up on the boat interrupting anything Erik would have said.

"I had a bit of a rough landing but I'm fine, Moira," Charles called back but he did not look up to look at the woman. "I know you want to leave and you don't trust me, Erik, but please listen to what I have to say first. Or at least get a cup of tea because this water is not as warm as I wish it was." Every instinct Erik had told him that he should not follow this man. When a smaller boat came around and helped Charles in he contemplated just swimming back to shore on his own and leaving this entire thing behind him. Yet when Charles held out a hand to help Erik into the boat he stared at the stared at the man's open expression, seeing no deceit behind those eyes

Against his better judgment Erik Lehnsherr took Charles Xavier's hand.

* * *

><p>Looking at Cerebo now made Erik nervous. Hank had showed them how to work the machine the day before but he guessed that he had not meant for the two of them to use it on their own. After using the machine Charles had winced when he walked outside into the bright sunlight. If there was ever a sign of a wicked headache that was one but Charles never said anything. Later on Erik would notice how little the telepath ate and that he looked like he was not seeing the world properly. Erik ran all of these thoughts through his head as he watched Charles set up the machine. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew this was a bad idea but there was no stopping Charles when he got into this state. He was grinning like a kid on Christmas and seemed far too eager to use a machine that seemed too dangerous for Erik's liking.<p>

"Are you sure it's a good idea to do this without McCoy?" Erik asked.

"We both learned how to use this yesterday," Charles said waving him off. "Your memory is just as good as mine, right? So there's nothing to worry about."

"There's plenty to worry about. We don't know what kind of side effects this thing has on you; you've only tried it once," Erik pointed out.

"There weren't any-"

"That's a lie; don't lie to me, Charles." Erik crossed his arms and stared Charles down, making sure that he did not break eye contact with the other man. For someone who could read minds and do god knows what else to an unsuspecting victim Charles was not a very good liar. The other man seemed to be thinking something over for a moment then heaved a sigh.

"Okay, I had a headache and I felt a little-" Charles waved his hand as if he was trying to come up with the right word "-detached? No, that's not right, maybe a little spacey?"

"'Spacey' sounds about right since you looked like you were three universes away," Erik replied. "This machine is impressive and I like the idea behind it but I think we should do more testing."

"Yes, testing, like me using it for five minutes," Charles said and Erik glared. "Just five minutes and then I'll leave it alone. Promise." He did not wait for Erik to respond as he walked around the center of the machine. Charles pulled the helmet of twisted wires over his head and put his hands on the railing. He could not turn on the machine from here and Erik was not sure if he wanted to do this. Using Cerebro they could quickly find Shaw or someone else who knew where the man was. Shaw was the goal and it should not matter to him if someone else got in the way. Erik tried to compartmentalize, tried to convince himself that this was the case, but there was a feeling in the pit of his stomach that Erik could not shake. Charles tilted his head to the side and looked a little pensive and for a horrible moment Erik thought Charles was reading him. _Stay out of my head,_ he thought as loudly as he could. "I'm not in your head, Erik, you don't need to shout."

"And keep it that way."

"I already said I wouldn't go anywhere near your head without your express permission but don't try to distract me. I need you to flip the switch. Will you do it?" Charles stared at him and Erik felt like he was being judged in some way. Without another word he walked over to the switchboard, tossed a last glance at Charles who nodded, and flipped the switch. Within seconds Charles' grip on the railing was tight enough that his knuckles were turning white. Erik walked around so he was face to face with Charles as the telepath stared straight ahead. His eyes were so wide and yet looked so far away as if he was seeing something completely different than Erik a foot or so away. Coordinates did not print out though like they had before and Erik wondered what Charles was doing exactly. His lips began to move in silent conversation, something else that had not happened the previous time, and it was starting to make him nervous.

"Charles, can you hear me? Are you okay?" Erik asked. He was not too surprised that he did not get any sort of response because he could only imagine the level of concentration that went into this machine but that did not ease his worries. He checked his watch and saw that almost three minutes had passed. He was not giving Charles more time than that, and Erik started to count down the seconds when something in the air changed. There was metal in the air, iron, and there was only one thing that caused that feeling.

It was in that moment that Erik noticed the blood that was starting to ooze from Charles' ear and that was all the motivation he needed to shut the machine down. _Charles, can you hear me? Answer, do something, if you can hear me, _Erik projected the best he could as the machine began to shut down. It took far too long and by the time the lights on the helmet died, blood stained the collar of Charles' shirt. As soon as the machine died Charles collapsed onto the railing and Erik nearly missed catching the other man before he toppled to the floor headfirst. Erik laid Charles onto his back, noticing the blood from his ears, a little from his nose, how ashen gray his skin was and that his eyes were still wide and unseeing.

"Charles, Charles, are you still with me? Wake up." Erik chose to ignore the hint of panic in his voice because he did not panic. When Charles stopped breathing a moment later, Eric very definitely began panicking. Erik wasted absolutely no time blowing blowing air into his _into his friend's mouth _ willing him to breath. He was about to call for help when Charles gasped a breath and blinked as if to clear his focus.

"Oh, hello, Erik," Charles said.

"'Hello, Erik?' You stopped breathing on me and that's what you have to say?" Erik asked flabbergasted.

"Well, I don't remember not breathing." Charles reached up, wiped his nose and stared at the blood. "When did that happen?"

"Just now while you were using the damned machine. You're bleeding here, too." Erik reached forward, touching Charles' ear and showing him the blood.

"Oh, that's not good." Charles moved to sit up but Erik nearly shoved him back down to the ground with a palm over his heart. Charles' heartbeat was frantic, as if he had just run a marathon, and that did not calm his nerves.

"Stay right there and don't move." Erik stood and managed to find a water bottle and a glass on the desk, left by Hank most likely, but he did not really care about the potential for germs. When he brought them back the telepath was still on his back staring at the ceiling as Erik knelt down next to him. "Sit up slowly or you might black out with how fast your heart is beating. "

"Yes, sir," Charles replied and Erik resisted the temptation to hit him. Instead he put a hand between the other man's shoulder blades and helped him sit up. Charles took the glass of water and drank it slowly, the color slowly returning to his face.

"What did you do differently?" Erik asked and Charles looked a little embarrassed.

"I was trying to find Shaw. I might have touched him, I don't know, but something completely locked me out. The sudden cut off must have backfired on me," Charles explained. "I wanted to get a location for you as soon as possible."

"You did that for me?" Erik asked bewildered.

"Of course, Erik, why wouldn't I?" Charles took another drink from the glass of water. Erik was suddenly hyper aware of several things. The first was the slight tremble of his hand on Charles' back and how hard his heart was beating. _I__was__scared__,_ Erik thought as quietly as possible so maybe Charles would not overhear. The last time he had genuinely been scared for another person was the day Shaw shot his mother. After that moment there had been no one in his life that he feared for. Yet here he was with this man he hardly knew, nerves shattered to the point that he was physically affected. It was almost too much to handle and coupled with the fact that Charles had also been harmed trying to do something for _him_ made it even worse.

"We're not ready for him yet and it sounds like he hurt you. Don't worry about him for now," Erik said his voice surprisingly even. "Don't do that again." Charles looked up from his water and met Erik's eyes; they were only inches apart.

"Promise," Charles replied sincerely. Erik stood and offered a hand, helping an unsteady Charles to his feet. He cared about this man and in that moment Erik realized he could not compartmentalize when it came to Charles. If Charles heard Erik swear to himself rather loudly he did not comment on it.

* * *

><p>They were on the recruitment trip but it felt like more of a scavenger hunt. Charles found them coordinates but by the time they got to the location, the mutant they were looking for had had more than likely moved on. That meant that they walked around a lot, asking questions while Charles read minds and Erik acted intimidating when needed. So far anyone that declined their offer had done so in a fairly civilized manner which was fine with Erik. Charles berated him the first time when he wanted to try and talk to the young man again. 'We won't convince them all' Charles had said but that did not sit well with Erik. There were too many people out there that were willing to sit back and do nothing. He could not understand that and told Charles as much.<p>

"We're asking a lot from these people," Charles said over dinner taking another sip of wine. "You weren't exactly enthusiastic at first."

"Until you convinced me otherwise," Erik replied. "Sometimes I think you really did go in my head and force me to stay." He was smiling when he said it because he was not serious but something dark crossed Charles' features.

"I didn't force anything on you," Charles said seriously. Erik realized that just inferring that Charles would do something like that was an insult and something that was not a joking matter.

"I know you didn't, Charles, I was just kidding," Erik clarified the smile fading. Charles blinked and flashed a brief smile that looked forced.

"Sorry, sorry, I just don't want you to think I would ever betray you like that." They sat in silence for a moment because a couple had sat down at the table next to them and could possibly hear what they were saying. As much as both of them talked about not hiding who they were they did not want someone overhearing all of this yet.

_I __think __I__'__m __going __to __go __back __to __the __hotel__, _Charles' voice said in Erik's head and despite how many times they had communicated telepathically it was still a little eerie. Charles, however, seemed to find his reaction amusing because there was a chuckle in his head that was so soft that Erik was sure he had not been meant to hear it. He also chose to ignore the way that laugh made his stomach twist into a knot.

_Very__funny__, __Charles__,_ Erik projected back. _I __need __to __use __the __restroom __and __I__'__ll __meet __up __with __you __outside__._ Charles nodded and called the waiter over for their check. Erik felt no guilt when they left a generous tip because it was all on the American government's tab. Charles nodded and they parted ways. Erik leaned against the bathroom sink heavily and closed his eyes. They had been traveling together for almost a week now and Erik found himself constantly trying to convince himself that Charles did not mean that much to him. He could not deny that he cared for the man but he had surprised himself when Charles was struck with a crippling migraine. The mutant that he had tried to communicate with had managed to lash out and take Charles by surprise. For the rest of the day Erik had felt like nothing in the world mattered because Charles Xavier was curled in the fetal position whimpering in pain. He did not know where that sudden desire to protect came from but it was not helping ease this feeling in his gut. The fine food sat like a lump of lead in his stomach and Erik splashed some water on his face. He had to get this sorted out and fast.

Erik knew something was wrong the second he stepped out of the restaurant. Charles was nowhere to be seen and throughout the trip, Charles had always waited for him. Now there was no sign of the man and that set Erik on edge. He closed his eyes and listened to the metal around him, waiting for some sort of sign. The instant he felt a gun he started to panic a little. _I__seem__to__panic__a__lot__when__it__comes__to__Charles__, _Erik thought as he followed the gun. He turned a corner and froze. A man was pressing Charles against a wall with an arm against his throat. Charles did not look worried but in the dim light Erik could see the man's rage.

"You listen to me, you government fucker; you stay away from my family or this is going to get ugly," the man said and Erik recognized him as the father of a mutant they had talked to earlier in the day.

"We never meant any harm, Mr. Johnson, we just wanted to help. We could help you, too, if you wanted," Charles said evenly but Mr. Johnson was was not listening. He pulled the gun out of the holster on his hip and pressed the muzzle to Charles' temple. Erik reacted without thinking twice. He tore the gun from the man's fingers and it went off, shooting at a wall several feet above Charles. Mr. Johnson turned and stared at Erik with wide eyes.

"It would be in your best interest to walk away right now," Erik said keeping his voice low and even.

"Erik, don't-" Whatever Charles was about to say did not matter the moment Mr. Johnson rushed toward him. Erik ducked right, narrowing avoiding a punch, when he realized what Charles had meant when he said that they could help him too. This man was a mutant and it appeared that his mutation was increased speed. It was because of that that Erik did not berate himself for the punches to the face and stomach that sent him stumbling back a few steps. The man moved forward with deadly intent, a look Erik knew all too well, and he was not going to die in a back alley because some father was pitching a fit. He pulled the nearest metal object, a trash can lid, and hit Mr. Johnson in the head hard enough that he hit the floor. Without thinking twice Erik crushed the lid into a ball with every intention of driving it though the man's skull.

"Stop," and Erik's body froze. He could not move, blink, anything as he stood over the man. He could still move his eyes and he saw Charles walking toward him looking too casual. _He's controlling me, _Erik thought. "I'm sorry, Erik, you know I don't like doing this, but I'm not letting you get more blood on your hands." Charles knelt down next to Mr. Johnson and touched his temple, his brow creasing in concentration. "He's not dead, thankfully, and he doesn't remember us now." Charles stood and Erik could move again.

"Charles, you promised-"

"Yes, I promised, and I'm sorry to break that promise but you were out of control," Charles replied and he walked away from the body on the ground, evidently moving this conversation to another location. They walked in silence back to the hotel and when they closed the door Charles turned with anger in his eyes. "What were you thinking, Erik?"

"He had a gun on you, how was I supposed to react?" Erik asked.

"Yes, he had a gun, and I also could have taken control of him at any time." Charles ran his fingers through his hair looking frustrated. "I'm not helpless, Erik, I don't need you to swoop in and protect me like some maiden in distress."

"Maybe if you showed some semblance of survival instinct I wouldn't feel the need to," Erik said his voice hard. "I mean honestly, Charles, how long were you going to just sit there and let him wave a gun at you? His finger was on the trigger, it could have fired at any time, you think you could have taken control when that happened? First you use Cerebro and nearly melt your brain now you have some crazed mutant, with enhanced speed I might add, put a gun to your temple." Erik was not sure where this rant was coming from but he stepped forward into Charles' space, leaning down so he dwarfed the other man using only his height and body. "Don't think I haven't noticed how hard you've been pushing yourself."

"There are mutants out there that need my help-"

"Shut up, Charles," Erik said cutting the other man off. "You're going to drive yourself into the ground and I'm not going to let you, are we clear? Read my mind right now, go ahead, and just see how serious I am." Charles stared at him, eyes wide, as he slowly placed a hand to his temple. Erik tried to control all of the emotions that were rushing through him but judging by the way Charles suddenly jerked back he was not succeeding.

"I'm sorry," he said softly and something in Erik's stomach twisted at that voice.

"You get some rest and we'll take a break in the morning. Alex Summers is in prison so I don't think we need to worry about losing him," Erik said and he moved out of Charles' space. They did not speak another word for the rest of the night but when Erik glanced over he saw Charles sleeping soundly. In that moment Erik knew, without a doubt, that he was completely screwed and there was no going back.

* * *

><p>The ride back to the hotel through the Russian country side was completely silent. While they had captured Emma Frost she had not revealed the location of Shaw, only what his intentions were. When Charles explained it to him it made Erik's stomach drop. There would be no talking Shaw out of this kind of madness and they both knew it. Whatever Shaw's next step was they were going to have to deal with him head on. "Erik didn't mind since this had been his plan all along, but the realization was beginning to set in for Charles. Something was changing in his friend, and Erik was okay with calling the telepath a friend, as he became more and more aware of just what they were dealing with. He also seemed to be becoming more aware of what Erik was willing to do to reach Shaw which was fine by him; better that there was no gray area.<p>

When they arrived back at their base of operations Erik was not at all surprised when Moira and and her superior, whose name he could not bother to remember pulled him off to the side. Charles watched them, hands hanging at his side, and did not move.

"You could have compromised the entire mission," Moira scolded.

"The mission was over for you but not for me," Erik replied.

"It was reckless and out of line; I should have you arrested," her superior said and that made his blood run cold. He could not spend time in a cell, not again, and he was willing to bolt across Russia to avoid it.

"He got you Shaw's telepath," Charles said intervening.

"This does not concern you, Mr. Xavier, though you should be punished as well," the superior said but Charles narrowed his eyes.

"Actually it does concern me because without me you wouldn't know what Shaw was planning and without Erik you wouldn't have her at all. We are civilians helping you of our own volition despite the fact that it is becoming more and more clear that our lives are at stake. So I think it would be in your best interest to show some gratitude since we are doing all of the work." Erik raised both of his eyebrows and smiled a little at him; he had never heard Charles go off like that and the two CIA members looked just as surprised.

"Are you threatening a member of the CIA, Mr. Xavier?" the superior asked evenly.

"No, I'm telling you that you are going to lose your only assets if you keep acting this way," Charles replied his voice almost eerily calm. Without waiting for another word the telepath turned on his heels and walked away from the two agents. Erik could feel Moira's gaze burning through the back of his head but did not let it bother him. He walked in silence with Charles until they were outside and away from the building. "I could really use a drink."

"I thought you didn't agree with me storming the place like that," Erik said as Charles massaged his temples.

"I didn't and I don't like how you went about disabling Miss Frost but that doesn't make it any less of a success," Charles replied sighing heavily.

"So you were defending me." Erik smiled to himself as he remembered their last conversation concerning 'protection' and 'defending.' Charles seemed to remember it as well and he looked a little sheepish.

"I guess that makes me something of a hypocrite but I would do it again in a heartbeat," he replied.

"You're going to get yourself on the bad side of the CIA," Erik warned but Charles waved him off.

"You're worth it," Charles said, his hands in his pockets all too casual. Erik said nothing and they stood in silence until they were called back in by a nervous Moira.

* * *

><p>Erik was having a nightmare. By this point in his life he was used to them and accepted that they were going to happen every night. That did not change now that he was at the Xavier mansion training to take out Shaw. He tried not to get too distracted by the way each of the children smiled when they realized that they were in control of their powers and not the other way around. Erik was almost envious of them because it had taken him years to think of his powers as anything less than an asset or a convenient weapon. So he watched Sean fall out of a window and Alex set half the bunker on fire and he could not help but feel a swell of pride for them. He was with them, right now, but they were not training. They were dead before him, eyes staring up, mouths open in shock. They died quickly, they were given that luxury, and Erik stepped carefully around them until he found Charles. He was completely still on the ground, the blood a pool around him, and another bullet hole in his chest. This one was aimed though, he could tell, because it hit vital organs but not enough for him to die quickly. No, unlike the others he was not given that mercy.<p>

"I'm proud of you," an all too familiar voice said and Erik's head snapped up to see Shaw standing before him.

"I killed them, I killed him," Erik replied because it was true.

"They were in the way of our goals; you did the right thing." Shaw offered him a hand and Erik stared at it. There was blood on it, Charles' blood, and the thought of touching it, of having that blood on his hands again, made him feel ill.

As quickly as the scene unfolded before him it vanished. Erik stood and there were no bodies, no blood, and Shaw was gone. He was just standing in the garden behind the mansion. Vaguely he could hear them talking, he could hear Charles, which was a relief. However, the sudden feeling of peace was not something normal. This was not how his nightmares ended, he woke up screaming or crushing something metal in his room, this was not right and he wanted to wake up .

Erik sat up straight and hit something with his forehead. Without thinking he called the small pocket knife he carried with him and rolled the person, he thought it was a person, onto their back and held the knife to their neck. A lump formed in his throat when he stared down at Charles who staring at him with wide eyes and a cut on his forehead that was already starting to bleed.

"Only you would find peace in a dream wrong," Charles said.

"What are you doing here?" Erik asked as he tossed the knife away but did not let Charles up from where he was pinned. "I could have killed you."

"But you didn't," he said as if that was enough to dismiss the issue. "And I felt your nightmare and wanted to help." Erik closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing. This felt like a betrayal because here Charles was admitting that he had been in Erik's head. A hand touched his cheek gently and Erik slapped it away.

"Get out of here, Charles," he said evenly. "Put some ice on your head and go back to your own room." Erik leaned back and let Charles sit up. He looked like he wanted to say something but whatever it was Erik did not want to hear it. Charles seemed to understand that and left the room with a hand to his forehead. When he was alone he risked a glance to the spot on the bed where Charles had been; there were a few drops of blood on the pillowcase.

_I won't hurt you again_, Erik thought to himself and closed his eyes.

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Listen __to __me __very __carefully__, __my__friend__, __killing __Shaw __will __not __bring __you __peace__."_

"_Peace __was __never __an __option__."_

_Present_

Erik opened his eyes slowly as he tried to clear the haze from his mind. The first thing he became aware of was the pain in his shoulder and that he was no longer on a beach. Erik sat up slowly and looked around the room; it was his bedroom back at the mansion. Something like dread clenched his stomach when he realized that his hands had been stained with Charles' blood the last time he was awake. Panic clawed at him (_always panic, always, always with Charles_) when the door opened and Raven stepped through. She was wearing her blue form and in a long skirt and a form fitting t-shirt. She stopped short when she saw him, a book in her hand, and stared.

"You're awake," she said flatly as if that was an important thing.

"What happened? Where is Charles?" Erik asked as he started to climb out of bed. Raven was next to him pushing him back into the bed faster than he thought possible. The entire world seemed hazy and he knew this feeling; he was on painkillers.

"Stay in bed for god's sake. Your shoulder is a mess and you're going to ruin all of the work we did to make it functional again." Raven set her book on the end table and leaned over, looking at the bandages but did not say anything.

"Raven, please, tell me; where is he?" he asked again his voice softer. She did not look up from changing his bandages.

"You deflected the bullets that Moira fired at you when you decided launching dozens of rockets at military fleets of two of the biggest world powers was a good idea," Raven said and thinking about it now it was not exactly a good way of going about that situation. "One of the bullets hit Charles in the side. It tore him up really badly but it was enough to distract you. Then Moira fired again and hit you in the shoulder. Charles managed to get you to take the helmet off and put you to sleep."

"How is he?" Erik asked his mouth dry.

"Alive though it was a close call." Raven finished changing the bandage and stood up straight to stare down at him. "His heart stopped on the operating table but they managed to get it started again. He's more or less functional now and there wasn't any permanent damage. That was three weeks ago and he thought it would be best if you slept for some reason." There was a long pause as Erik tried to collect his thoughts, tried to come up with something to say, to find the right words to apologize, to ask to see Charles, to tell him to stay away because he could not face his best friend after he had nearly killed him. He knew why Charles had kept him asleep; the telepath had not wanted him to run while injured. Raven walked over to the suitcase with all of his things and pulled the helmet out. It was the thing that kept Charles out, it would protect him from Charles reading the mess of his thoughts right now.

"Raven, I need that," Erik said evenly and she simply stared at him.

"He thought you would for some reason," Raven replied but she handed him the helmet nevertheless. The moment the cold metal touched his head Erik felt much safer. He could not let Charles see how pained he was at the thought that he had nearly killed the one person he cared about in the world. "You're both more or less useless right now so get some sleep. I can send him by later." She paused to stare at him with that same look Charles got when he was reading someone's mind. "But something tells me you don't want that." Without waiting for confirmation Raven turned and walked out of the room. Erik stared at the ceiling, almost thankful that Raven was as good at reading people as her brother was at times. The helmet was cold and uncomfortable but as long as it served its purpose, as long as it served its purpose and kept Charles out of his head, then it was worth it.

Erik closed his eyes but stayed in bed because he did not want to risk seeing Charles; he could not face the other man, not yet.

* * *

><p>Erik began to suspect that he was not exactly permitted to leave the house when he noticed how reluctant they were to let him out of bed at all. In the end he did not know who gave the okay but after that it was impossible to be alone. Someone was always with him or close by. He had a feeling that if he tried to leave the mansion none of them would hesitate to use force on him. Erik could accept that, to a degree, as Raven had said he had almost attacked two world powers and something like that could not be ignored. It was why he spent the majority of his time in the bunker trying to hone his skills.<p>

It was also easy to avoid Charles this way as well. He resented himself a little for avoiding the other man like this but he also could not stomach the idea of seeing Charles. The helmet never came off and despite how uncomfortable it was the assurance that Charles could not pick up even a stray thought was worth it. The betrayal in Charles' eyes when he had turned the missiles on the humans, when he had been bleeding out on the beach, Erik did not want to see that again. Eventually, he figured, they would believe he was not a threat and let him leave. Shaw was dead and he was not sure where to go from there because that had been his entire life. Now he needed to find another reason for living and he had no idea what it could possibly be. Erik clenched his fist as he lifted a metal table off of the ground. The muscles in his shoulder immediately screamed at him for it and Hank winced.

"It's going to take a while before you're able to do anything with your dominant hand," he said.

"I don't like that," Erik replied

"There isn't anything you can do about it. For heavy things you need to use your body, you know that, so you're going to have to accept that you aren't going to be able to move satellite dishes anytime soon." Erik felt his entire body tense up at the thought. It had been the first time Charles had been in his head in a long time and the first time the telepath had gone looking for something. What he had brought to the surface had been a memory that made tears fall from both of their eyes. It had seemed like such a private moment And Erik was not sure he was okay with other people knowing about it. It must have shown in his eyes that he was lost in his own head because Hank put his clipboard down a little harder than necessary, drawing Erik's attention out of his own head. "I was wondering if I could get your opinion on something." Erik turned and stared at the mutant before him; it was so hard to tell now how Hank was reacting, if he was angry, and if something was going to set him off.

"What is it?" Erik asked walking over to look at some papers on the table. He instantly knew what it was and it made his stomach twist into a tight knot. "Those are the plans for Cerebro."

"Yes, they are, I took them from the CIA when we left. It seemed like a good idea at the time," Hank replied.

"It probably was." Erik did not mention the CIA much and what little information he had managed to get out of Sean was that Charles had wiped Moira's mind once he regained consciousness. All it had taken was some convincing and she walked out the door none the wiser

"Anyway, I think we're going to need it. Charles doesn't want to leave mutants in the hands of the government and he wants to help as many as he can. We have a few pages of locations but we're going to need to look elsewhere eventually. I was wondering what you think of the changes I made." Erik creased his eyebrows and looked at the plans. Hank had carefully marked all of the metal pieces, what would be going where, and made it as simple as possible in his scribble.

"This would work but I don't like that machine," Erik said. "We don't know what it could do to him if he contacted someone he shouldn't or something like that." He did not mention the time Charles had passed out and stopped breathing. That was something that Charles needed to say and if he did not then Erik had no qualms telling Hank the dangers of this machine.

"Professor thinks it's okay and it is his head." Hank gathered the papers and put them all in a pile. "If you're willing you would be a big help." Neither of them mentioned whether or not he would still be there but Erik did not comment on the matter. He did not reply at all and Hank did not seem surprised. All of them seemed on edge, as if they wanted to tell him to go patch things up with Charles, but none of them were willing actually say it.

Erik parted with Hank and headed upstairs to gather some of his things. He had waited around long enough and he wanted to leave. If they wanted to stop him then he was more than willing to give the kids a run for their money. As he walked he passed by a cracked door and caught a glimpse of Charles. Erik froze and looked in because Charles was pulling on a button down shirt with his chest exposing the ugly wound on his side, which was bruised and bandaged still. For some reason he was transfixed by the sight and could not move. It was a minute or so before he realized that Charles was standing there watching him. Against his better judgment Erik walked into the room without bothering to knock.

"Hello, Erik, I was wondering when I would see you," Charles said. How could he possibly sound so casual with such an ugly wound on his side? The bullet was not clean, it had torn through his side, and it really was a miracle he had not bled out. With the helmet Charles could not read his mind but that did not set Erik at ease.

"I did that," was all he managed to say. Charles looked down at the wound as if he had forgotten it was there at all, as if it somehow did not matter, and finished buttoning up his shirt.

"It was an accident, Erik. I don't blame you for it," Charles replied as he pulled a sweater on as well. "You were defending yourself, I know that, and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." There was no possible way that this was not bothering him at all because the scar was terrible and Charles had been briefly dead on an operating table. Erik moved forward and got directly into Charles' space and was surprised that the telepath did not flinch or hesitate.

"I did this to you, I nearly killed you, how can you be so casual about that?" he asked bewildered.

"I trust you, Erik, I know you wouldn't hurt me on purpose." Charles reached up to touch the helmet. "I wish you'd take this damnable thing off; it's very disorienting to not hear you." Erik snatched Charles' wrist before he could touch the metal of the helmet and held it there. They stood together for a moment staring at each other.

"You trust me?" Erik asked taking a step forward, forcing Charles to take a step back. "After I cut you off when I went after Shaw?"

"I had a feeling something like that would happen; you were facing the man that tortured you and killed your mother. I wasn't expecting rationality," Charles replied but Erik continued to take a step forward as Charles slowly backed up.

"Even after I tried to rally everyone into going to war with the humans?"

"You want what's best for us, all of us, I just don't agree with your methods." They were close to the wall now and Erik did not release Charles' wrist, wondering why he was trying to convince Charles not to trust him.

"Even after I turned all of those missiles on the boats? Even after I was condemning thousands of men to die?" Erik stayed in Charles' space as the telepath's back hit the wall. If Charles was afraid or nervous he was doing a very good job of not showing it. Erik took Charles' other wrist and pinned both of them to the wall, his hands up as if in a surrender. "I could kill you right now before any of the kids could get up here."

"You won't though," Charles replied with all the confidence in the world.

"How do you know that? You can't read my mind," Erik said tightening his grip.

"Because I trust you and even though I can't read your mind I'm 100% confident that you won't hurt me." The words were spoken with such conviction that it left Erik breathless. Charles was staring down a man that could kill him with his bare hands with no means of defense and he was not even nervous. He looked as certain in this as he had when he told Erik he could move the satellite dish. For what felt like a long time all Erik could do was stare at the man before him, flabbergasted and frustrated because he could not understand this level of trust and how Charles was still so naive. The moment he took off the helmet Charles could take control of him, make him forget everything, bend him to his will. Charles had confessed that he trusted in Erik and now it was his turn to trust in Charles. He needed this man more than he had ever imagined and the twisted feelings inside could not be ignored anymore.

Erik released one of Charles' wrists, pulled the helmet off, tossed it aside, and before Charles could say anything, Erik reclaimed the wrist and pressed their lips together. If the sound of surprise Charles made was any indication, he had not been expecting this and Erik felt almost smug knowing he had caught the great Charles Xavier by surprise. For a moment Charles did not react and Erik tried to come up with some sort of explanation until Charles began to kiss him back. It was as if Charles melted into him and he opened his mouth willingly. It was the most natural kiss of Erik's entire life; it felt right. In his head all he could think about was why it had taken them this long to get here. If Charles' enthusiasm for the kiss was any indication this was not one sided. Erik felt Charles try to move his hands, to do something, but held them in place tightening his grip. They were an anchor, he could feel Charles' pulse underneath his fingers, so he was 100% sure that the telepath was there. They only broke for oxygen and stared at each other.

"I was not expecting that," Charles said his voice already breathy; it made his head spin.

"I took the great Professor Charles Xavier by surprise? I feel like this should be a great accomplishment," Erik replied smirking.

_Kiss __me __again_, Charles' voice in his head ordered and Erik was more than happy to comply. He locked their lips together and released Charles' wrist to take a step back from the wall. From there it was like Charles' hands were everywhere at once, clutching Erik's shirt and holding on as if for dear life. Erik could only wonder if Charles was an desperate to know that he was here, he was real, as well. _Yes__, __I__do__, _Charles said.

_I __told __you __to __stay __out __of __my __head_, Erik projected back never breaking their kiss.

_You__'__re __projecting_ as if that was the only problem that they had. Erik dropped his hands to Charles' waist and pulled them so they were flush against each other. For a second he thought he felt a dull prick in the back of his head but he was too distracted by Charles' mouth. Erik managed to tear himself away from that mouth and latched onto a spot on the other man's neck. The collar of the shirt was in the way and he wanted it off right now, he wanted all of Charles right now, and he began to walk them backwards toward the bed. It was in that moment that he felt Charles tense up for the first time.

"I've got you," Erik whispered as Charles' legs hit the back of the bed.

"Erik, I-" but Charles was cut off when Erik pushed him back on the bed. To his horror Erik watched as Charles curled up in pain, wincing to the point that there were almost tears in his eyes and he suddenly felt so stupid. He realized that Charles landed on his hurt side, the wound still new and painful.

"It's okay, Erik," Charles said but it sounded forced. Erik leaned over Charles carefully and started to unbutton the shirt. He could feel the telepath's confusion and Erik smiled.

"I said I've got you," he replied as he finished unbuttoning the shirt. Now he could see the real damage done to Charles' torso. The wound was ugly and the amount of blood loss must have been must have been quite high. "How did you get to a hospital in time?"

"The teleporter, Azazel, took me without hesitation. After I was on the operating table and he got everyone off of the beach he and the other man both vanished. Angel stayed for a few days but when they found out that Sean's arm was badly injured she left. I think she'll be back eventually." Charles shifted on the bed but he did not look uncomfortable. Erik leaned over him, bracing himself on his hands so as to avoid putting any weight on Charles, and looked into his eyes. He was not a romantic man and if he was completely honest with himself he really had no idea what he was doing. Sex had always been means to an end for him, something to cure an itch or get information, that was forgotten hours later. "I don't know what I'm doing either," Charles said and Erik leaned down so they were nose to nose.

"Are you in my head?" he asked though he knew the answer.

"Of course not; you're projecting again," Charles replied.

"Do you want to be?" Erik asked and Charles' eyes went wide. "I know what I'm asking and I'm saying it's okay." If Charles' fingers trembled a bit as he reached for his temple Erik chose not to comment on it. Instead he laid kisses along the telepath's bare chest, stopping every now and then to suck a mark into his skin. Erik knew the moment Charles was in his head because it felt calm, like someone was soothing a headache, and he could feel the other man's emotions. Erik truly understood the level of confidence and trust that Charles had in him and he did his best to project those back. He felt Charles breath hitch when his teeth found the other man's collarbone but he was not sure if it was from physical or mental stimulation.

"Get up here," Charles managed to say as two surprisingly strong hands grasped his shoulders and pulled Erik up so their mouths could meet again. Somehow they managed to move to the top of the bed so they could stretch out side by side together. Charles stared at the ceiling, breathing hard after they broke their kiss. "Thank you."

"For what?" Erik was stretched out on his stomach feeling sedated despite the fact that they had not done anything outside of kissing.

"For letting me in like that. No one has ever done that before," Charles said with a ghost of a smile on his lips. There was that same distant look in his eyes that was there that was there the four or five times he had used Cerebro. For some reason it worried Erik and he reached forward to touch Charles' shoulder. "I can feel your worry and I'm sorry. I just haven't dived in like that before and it's overwhelming. I get hit with everything; not just memories but emotions, dreams, wishes, anything that you can think might be in your head at any given time. That coupled with us-" Charles actually blushed a little "-what we were doing at the time really hit me hard. I'm okay though just a little overly sensitive I suppose." Erik had no words to offer a telepath on what kind of things they must go through on a regular basis so he tried to keep his thoughts quiet. They lay in silence until Charles fell asleep and Erik watched him carefully wondering if this burning need to shield Charles from the world would ever go away.

* * *

><p>The next week or so felt like a blur. In a few hours Erik went from feeling like a prisoner to knowing that the door would always be open. While he did not say the words exactly Charles made it clear that no matter what he did he would be welcome. Erik was fairly sure he did not want to know what had made Charles use those words but tried not to pay it any mind. There was so much going on in that head of his that Erik was not always sure that Charles was on the same plane as everyone else. Every now and then he would get a far away look in his eyes and spend an hour doing what appeared to be day dreaming. The first time he witnessed it Erik walked away shaking his head while smiling. The second time he lingered a little longer but did not pay it much mind. By the fifth time he was starting to get worried. Charles told him nothing was wrong but there was a twitch in his facial expressions that hinted that he was lying. There was only one thing to do at that point: he asked Raven.<p>

"Sometimes he gets like that," she said as she cut some vegetables for dinner. "It's a lot harder on him than he lets on."

"What do you mean?" Erik asked creasing his eyebrows. Raven hesitated but set the knife down so she could make eye contact.

"He should be the one to explain this to you and I wouldn't be saying anything if I didn't think you'd lurk around him looking for some sort of clue." Erik was about to disagree when she waved him off. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. Try to think of a moment when your mind was completely blank."

"There isn't any; the mind is always active in some way," Erik replied though he had a feeling that he knew where this was going.

"Right so that's a lot of noise. My brother is powerful, don't get me wrong, and he has amazing control but he's also just one person. With his power he hears and sees everything. He can't shut it off. He's gotten better over the years at blocking people and dulling the noise but it's still there. If he tries to fight it he'll just hurt himself, hence his migraines. Sometimes he has to relax and just let the thoughts of the world flow through him without fighting." Raven crossed her arms across her chest and looked a little sad. "I've seen him overwhelmed, Erik, and it's not pretty. I know how protective you are about him, don't even deny it, I'm not stupid. So you need to know that sometimes he needs space." There was a long silence as he tried to process all of this information.

"What does him being overwhelmed look like?" Erik asked and Raven narrowed her eyes. "I need to know what to look for to help him." She sighed heavily and chewed on her lower lip.

"He's had a few seizures but that was when he was younger. He hasn't had one in probably a year and a half. Nose bleeds, he's stopped breathing a few times, migraines that literally cripple him and just generally being unable to handle anything. There isn't much you can do when it happens; just make sure he doesn't hurt himself." He wanted to ask what she meant by that but had a feeling that she would not answer. Instead he helped her start to get dinner ready, pointedly ignoring the crash that came from what Charles was beginning to refer to as 'the danger room.' "Oh shit I forgot!"

"What did you forget?" Erik asked watching her carefully. Raven stood a little taller and narrowed her yellow eyes.

"I think the pain I will inflict on you if you hurt my brother is fairly obvious but here it is anyway: I will hunt you down if you hurt my brother. He has never opened up to anyone before and if you screw this up you'll probably ruin the rest of the world to him forever." Raven jabbed a finger at his chest and glared. "Keep that in mind. I can change my appearance, including finger prints. We also have a rather large piece of property."

"Is this your equivalent of cocking a shot gun while glaring from the front porch?" Erik tried to make his tone light but he realized that she was completely serious and Raven was not someone he wanted as an enemy.

"Pretty much. Now go set the table," Raven replied and her entire demeanor changed in an instant. If anyone walked in right now there was no possible way they could tell that she had just threatened all sorts of harm if he should hurt Charles. Despite the fact that he could kill with a thought it seemed like a need to protect Charles from everything was not a trait limited just to Erik. It was then that the telepath wandered into the kitchen, hands in his pockets, took one look at them and rolled his eyes.

"Raven, did you give Erik a stern talking to?" he asked and Erik tried to remember if he had felt any of Charles' influence but Raven just beamed.

"Just looking out for you, little brother," she replied before he could correct her.

"I'm sorry, Erik; she seems to have this thing about 'protecting' me for some reason. That is something you can both discuss while locking me in a room so the big bad wolf can't get me," Charles said and his eyes were shining.

"How did you know she gave me this 'talk?' Did you read one of our minds?" Erik asked.

"Like anyone else I don't go into Raven's mind unless she tells me I can. No, she's perfected the art of projecting to me from anywhere in the house and she told me not to come down because she needed to set you straight." Charles said shaking his head. and observed Erik in a way that did not involve any telepathy; he was looking for signs the normal way. "She told you something else but I'm not sure what. I'm sure it was just something that you could hold over my head in some way." Erik smiled and thought _actually__that__is__pretty__accurate_.

Raven joined them a moment later followed by Alex, Sean and Hank. It seemed so domestic for all of them to eat at once but judging by the way they all looked at Charles this seemed planned.

"If you're going to yell at me about the fire I put it out," Alex said.

"And that window was broken before I got there," Sean added.

"Do you really think lying to a telepath is a good idea?" Raven asked shaking her head.

"I'm not worried about any of that," Charles said and they all looked at him. Whatever he was going to say was going to be big and for a second, Erik was almost offended that it was not brought up with him first. Then he realized that that was rubbish and decided that paying attention was a better idea. "While I know Hank is busy building a new Cerebro I think it's time we try to find some other mutants who need our help. I have at least two pages of coordinates and I'm sure some of them need some help."

"I like the sound of that," Raven said smiling. "And now that you can trust us you're going to send us out to help too."

"I'm afraid not," Charles replied and all of the children looked offended. "It's not for a lack of confidence in your abilities but more that building something like Cerebro and all of the information here needs to be looked over. This house, our only home, needs to be protected so we can bring all of those people somewhere safe."

"Besides who's going to listen to a bunch of kids anyway?" Erik said grinning. Sean looked like he was about to blow Erik off of his chair, there was a flash of red energy from Alex, Hank made a sound that could be classified as a 'growl' and Raven actually flicked briefly into another form for only a second. Charles, on the other hand, just looked amused.

"Fine, but I take no responsibility for what kind of state Sean or Alex might be in when you get back," Raven said sounding annoyed. The two boys seemed to take it as a challenge as they glared at her. Charles sighed and glanced at Hank and Erik instantly knew that they were communicating telepathically. He could only guess that it was a simple rule; he was in charge and they would listen to him. If he did not know better Erik would say that Hank was smiling.

They finished dinner with no more back talk from the kids and he went with Charles to the study as they did the dishes. It was something he had never seen himself doing as little as a month ago. Now he was settling into the study next to a fire and a chess board with a man that could read minds surrounded by children with amazing abilities. Erik was too distracted to notice when Charles invaded his personal space and pressed a light kiss to his lips.

"And you say I drift into dream land too much," he said smiling.

"You do but that's beside the point. Shall we?" Erik gestured to the chess set but did not move away from Charles.

"We will but I have to make sure of something first; are you angry at me for deciding that I think we should go recruiting? As I was talking I realized I never asked if you wanted to go and you don't have to-" Erik put a finger over Charles' lips to silence him because the telepath did enjoy babbling when he was nervous.

"I want to get out there and help them, too. Plus I enjoyed the last time we traveled together and for some reason I think it'll be better this time," he replied. Charles smirked and moved out of his space. They played chess well into the night and it was nearly midnight when Charles suddenly sat up straight, narrowing his eyes. Erik knew that look by now; Charles was listening to something. Without a word the telepath stood up and walked out of the room. Erik stared for a moment then followed. He was about to ask what was going on when Charles opened the front door to reveal Angel. One of her eyes was swollen shut, her lip was cut and bleeding and she huddled in on herself as if it hurt to move.

"What are you-" Erik began but Charles held up a hand to silence him.

"What happened?" Charles asked, his voice soft.

"I tried to find someone else, anyone else, that would take me in. Azazel and Janos left me behind and I had nowhere to go. So," Angel paused and closed her eyes. "So I went home and my stepfather was there and he-"

"I understand," Charles said his fingers moving to his temple. "May I?" Angel nodded slowly and gasped once Charles closed his eyes. She let her head hang low, hair covering her bruised face, with tears in her eyes. "I know you're here because you have nowhere else to go and that's okay. That's what we want to do, we want to help you, but you have to let us." Erik was about to chastise Charles for being so obviously stupid when he saw the look in the telepath's eyes. This was not the normal empathy that he got from touching the minds of another person, this was true understanding, and Erik realized that maybe things at the Xavier household were not as easy as he thought.

"You have to know we can't trust you," Erik said because Charles certainly would not.

"I know," Angel said softly. "I'm just asking for a chance or at least somewhere to sleep for the night."

_She __is __sincere__, _Charles said in his mind.

_She __was __with __Emma __Frost __for __quite __a __while__; __she __could __know __how __to __put __up __barriers_, Erik replied.

_I would sense them and I'm not going to let her wander about. I'm not stupid; we will take precautions. _ Charles' voice in his head sounded a little offended but Erik did not say, or think, another word. Charles held out a hand to Angel and she stared at it as if she could not believe that this was happening. She took his hand and Charles smiled at her. "Come on. I'm afraid you won't be in a very comfortable room for the time being," he said as he lead her through the house. In the lower level, where Hank had set up shop, there was the medical room that Charles had used while he was recovering. It was underground with a comfortable bed, a desk and a very strong lock.

"I know why I'm here and I'll stay here as long as I need to," Angel said. Charles squeezed her hand and she walked into the room. Charles closed the door and locked it tightly, looking through the small glass window.

"Jesus," Charles muttered as he looked away. Erik moved to the window as Angel pulled off her jacket. The back of her dress was open for her wings, but her back was littered with what looked like lashings, most of which were centered on her wings. They were raw, ugly and some were still bleeding. Erik looked away, feeling the ghost of wounds long since healed linger. "I'm going to wake Hank to tend to her wounds. We should probably get the others up as well." Charles turned to walk away but Erik snatched his wrist.

"You didn't just look into her mind, you showed her something from you, and I don't know what it was but," the words seemed to get caught around his tongue, "but know that I would never judge you." Charles looked at the hand clasped around his wrist and then back at Erik, his gaze piercing.

"We'll see," was all he said as Erik released his wrist so they could walk upstairs and tell the children that they were housing a person that they had fought against not two months ago. Erik had a feeling this was not going to go over well.

* * *

><p>Erik was right that it did not go over well with any of them but more so Sean than anyone else. As Charles explained where she would be staying Sean rubbed the arm that he had injured during his fight with her. It was still bothering him and it made it much harder for him to fly. They all had their reservations until Raven spoke up.<p>

"We can't judge anyone who comes to us or no one will ever stay. We have to help them no matter what they've done in the past. My brother was right to put her in the medical room and I think she should stay there for the time being," she said looking at the boys.

"Just keep her away from me," Sean said quietly and he walked out of the room without another word. Charles glanced at Erik and looked a little sad.

"Is she going to be all right?" Alex asked and Hank stared at him as if he could not believe the young man had asked that.

"Oh, yes, she's going to be okay. I don't want to say everything was superficial because she was hurt quite badly but she should make a full recovery. As for her wings I'm not sure how long it'll be until those are okay," Hank replied and there was an uneasy silence.

"Good," Raven said quietly. They were all projecting, Erik could tell by the way all sorts of emotions flashed in his eyes, until they all parted. Alex promised to try to talk to Sean, Raven as well, and Erik hoped that the boy did not let his rage consume him.

Two days later they were getting ready to walk out the door when Charles hesitated. It was something that he almost never did. Charles was always confident in his actions; it was why people were drawn to him, so for him to second guess something there had to be something heavy on his mind. Erik placed a hand on his shoulder to see if maybe he could coerces an answer out of the other man. _What's wrong?_ Erik thought because this was something that Charles was not going to say out loud.

_The __last __time __we __left __them__,_ Charles cut that thought off and took a deep breath. He was afraid for the kids and Erik really did not blame him; they had lost Darwin and Angel the last time. Judging by the way that Charles looked back at them he blamed himself for some reason.

_You __know __what __these __kids __are __capable __of__, __you__'__ve __seen __it__. __Do __you __really __think __they __can__'__t __defend __themselves__?_ Erik asked silently as Raven joined them.

"I thought you two left already. Did you forget something?" she asked.

"Raven, can you promise me something?" Charles asked before Erik could usher him out the door.

"Depends on what you want me to promise," Raven replied tilting her head to the side and narrowing her eyes.

"If you think, for even a second, that someone is coming for you or you're going to be attacked, get downstairs and stay there. I know you want to protect yourselves and our home but I care about you more than any of that," Charles said. Raven walked forward, pulling her brother into a tight hug.

"We'll hide if we need to so don't worry your pretty head; you'll give yourself a headache," she said pulling away and smiling. "Now get out of here. We have things under control, I promise." Charles nodded, flashed a smile and walked out the door. Raven met Erik's gaze as he followed and he understood what she was saying: watch out for him. Erik nodded and he climbed into the car with Charles. He was not surprised that he was going to be the one that was driving again. As they were pulling out of the estate Erik stole a glance at Charles and their eyes met. When Charles smiled and turned his attention to the road all he could think was, _I __am __in __this __way __too __deep__._

* * *

><p>They met with two mutants and both of them turned down the invitation to the school. The coordinates that they had from Cerebro were months old and half of the time they drove slowly around neighborhoods while Charles scanned. By the middle of the second week the lines on Charles' face were impossible to ignore and if the way he was squinting at the afternoon sunlight meant anything he was also battling a migraine. Erik remembered the last time he had tried to get Charles to slow down, to take better care of himself, and how it had not ended well for either of them. Things were different now, <em>they<em> were different, and he really hoped that a new and enlightened Charles would listen to reason.

"How about we take a few days off?" Erik said and Charles looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Next town we stop in, we check into a nice bed and breakfast, watch some bad TV and just relax. We're not on a time line this time so we don't need to rush."

"You think I'm pushing myself too hard," Charles said annoyed.

"You do look stretched too thin," Erik said which was a much nicer way of saying 'you look like death' despite the fact that it was much more accurate.

"Jesus, are you trying to protect me again?" The telepath ran his fingers through his hair. "Did Raven put you up to this?"

"What? No, not exactly." Charles glared. "She basically told me that I should watch out for you because-" Erik cut himself off because he was not sure if he was supposed to say this. Charles had not offered the information about him being overwhelmed and it was not something that should be brought up casually.

"Because what?" Charles asked and when Erik did not respond he looked angry. "I will take it out of your head if I have to." If that tone of voice had taught him anything in these last few months it was that Charles was not kidding around.

"Raven told me about what happens when you get overwhelmed," Erik replied. Charles groaned and leaned back in his chair, messaging his temples.

"Just pull over anywhere. I don't want to have your paranoia following me around," he said evenly. Erik knew that Charles felt like he was being coddled again but he was a passive man. Charles Xavier was not a person that would jump at the chance for a fight.

Charles was predictably silent until Erik found a hotel that looked nice enough. Charles stood up and wasted no time going to the front desk. Erik gathered both of their bags and was in the process of locking the car when Charles emerged with a key in hand. For a second Erik had thought they were going to get separate rooms and was relieved that they did not; Charles was far too pale and he did not want to leave the other man alone. What did surprise him, when he walked into the room, was that there were two separate beds. While they had not slept together yet they had been sleeping in the same bed.

"Are you all right?" Erik asked as he closed the door and Charles gave him an angry look. It was surprising to see him so riled up since he so rarely let this side of himself out.

"I have a headache, a _headache_, and if you haven't noticed I get them quite often. It comes from the constant noise I have going on in my head. I'm fine; I've had far worse," Charles snapped and he looked like he was about to elaborate when he closed his mouth and sat down on the edge of his bed, falling onto his back. Erik cautiously moved and sat next to his friend but did not touch him.

"I don't like it when you have headaches. Why don't you tell me what caused the worst one so it doesn't happen again?" he offered extending a metaphorical olive branch but Charles scoffed and it sounded bitter.

"It won't so it's one less thing you need to protect me from," Charles grumbled which made Erik finally turn around so he could look at this man that he just did not understand sometimes.

"Like I told you last time we had this fight; people wouldn't worry if you showed some survival instincts. You're doing the exact same thing this time as you did the last time, did you think my opinion on the matter would change? Why is it so hard for you to understand that the people around you just want you-"

"-safe?" Charles finished. "I'm so sick of that word. What do I have to do to convince you people that I'm not some fragile thing that is going to break? I've seen the darkest corners of the mind, human and mutant, and believe me when I say that I've seen it all. I know what people are capable of and I know when I need to step away." Charles sat up so they were sitting close; it made Erik's pulse quicken. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do," Erik said without hesitation.

"Then trust me to know my own limits." The words hung heavy in the air because Erik realized just how patronizing he was being. Charles had almost limitless power and it was a power that tore at his mind every moment of every day. Erik nodded and traced a finger along Charles' jawline.

"I'm sorry, my friend, can you ever forgive me?" he asked sounding so serious that it was almost laughable. Charles grinned and leaned in close.

"I can think of a few ways." Charles smiled as they leaned close and touched their lips together. Erik never got tired of this; every time he touched Charles it was like touching electricity. There was nothing wrong and nothing that could make it any less amazing. This time the kiss was a little deeper, lewder, and he had a feeling it had to do with their fight. Erik so often forgot that not everyone in his life needed him to relentlessly protect them. Charles was an adult and a powerful telepath; he just wished the other man did not push himself so hard. As they kissed something was still bothering him; what was the thing that had given Charles the worst headache of all? He claimed that it could never happen again and that just made Erik all the more worried. There was always a chance that something could happen again and he really did not want to risk that. Charles put his hands on Erik's shoulders and let them fall back against the bed. Erik hovered over the other man, studying him, wanting to know.

"There isn't anything to tell," Charles said and he must have been projecting again.

"There is or you would just tell me," Erik replied. The telepath covered his eyes with his hands and groaned.

"You're not going to let this go," he grumbled and stared at the ceiling. "When I have control of someone I feel what they feel. So if they feel pain then they feel pain, if they feel joy I feel joy. I am completely connected to that person. If something happens to them it feels like it is happening to me." Erik stared, his eyebrows creased, trying to figure out how this was relevant when his blood ran cold.

"Shaw. You had control of Shaw when I killed him. I made you feel-" Erik cut himself off because it was almost too sickening to dwell on. He leaned back away from Charles feeling even more guilty than ever. Charles, however, leaned back on his elbows and watched Erik carefully. "How did it-"

"-feel? It was almost unbearable though watching the coin and feeling it at first was much worse. I screamed the entire time and could hardly see straight when we met on that beach." Trust Charles to be completely frank about something and, as usual, make something massive seem like no big deal. "And before you go off about how sorry you are I would like to remind you that I could have let him go at any time. I didn't because I didn't want you to get hurt; the man was too dangerous. To get Shaw out of the picture I had to make that sacrifice. So don't blame yourself for yet another thing." Erik stared and tried to wrap his head around the man lying before him. Charles always forgave him, always, and sometimes he wondered what he would have to do to make Charles doubt him. If he was projecting now then Charles was not listening. Instead he did not move on the bed, did not reach or move away, just waited. Erik wanted to apologize but he had a feeling he would get yelled at again. Instead Erik leaned forward and locked lips with Charles who seemed to fall back into the bed with no resistance. Since they had reconnected they were very careful because neither of them were fully healed yet, though judging by the way Charles was kissing him the telepath did not seem concerned about that at all.

"Charles." Erik tried to regain his breath. "I don't want to hurt you and I know you don't want to hurt me either."

"Naturally but that doesn't mean we can't do anything," Charles replied not even bothering to be vague. Instead he sent Erik a picture of them in bed, curled together and touching each other in every way possible. Erik clenched his jaw and had to bite his cheek to keep from losing control right there. Charles seemed to know that and pulled him down for another kiss, the telepath's hands sneaking under Erik's turtleneck. Erik broke their kiss long enough to toss the garment aside only to latch onto Charles' neck, sucking a deep bruise onto his throat. Erik moved his hands under Charles' shirt to touch bare flesh and he tried not to react when he touched the ugly scar on the other man's torso. Instead Erik focused on getting rid of both of their clothing as fast as possible.

Either he projected or Charles just understood they were both stripping with strict efficiency. When they were finally chest to chest Erik could not resist kissing Charles into the mattress despite the ache in his shoulder from holding up his own weight. He moved so they were side by side, lips still locked. It was only when he had to breathe that Erik pulled away, and he was not sure what he was going to suggest, but the next thing he knew Charles snatched his wrist and licked a long line from his wrist to the tip of his middle finger. Erik gave himself a lot of credit for the amount of self control it took not to come from Charles' talented tongue. Eventually he had to pull his hand away from the telepath or this was going to be over far too soon. Erik wrapped his hand around both of them and began to move in slow, sure movements. Charles could not keep his hands still, touching and kissing every inch of Erik's body. Every now and then Erik felt the touch of Charles' mind on his own and it enhanced everything ten fold.

Neither of them lasted long but Erik swore he saw stars when he went over the edge. Through the haze he heard Charles come not long after. They stayed nose to nose for a little while as Erik tried to catch his breath. When he was sure he could see, Erik sat up and got a wet rag to clean both of them up. Neither of them said a word as they crawled back into bed and Charles let Erik pull him forward in a tight embrace.

* * *

><p>They were not doing well with recruitment this time around. After the third person turned them down Erik was tempted to give up but Charles mentioned that there were so many of them. He was not surprised there went plenty who lived with accepting families or were able to keep it a secret and did not want to give up that life. Erik did not understand that but they drove along the stretch of highway anyway. They were heading across the mid west and there was not a person or a building in sight. They had left the last mutant behind almost two hours ago and they were still an hour away from the next one. Charles was leaning against the window, his forehead resting on the glass. Erik was relaxed in the car because they were alone and he did not see a reason why since the road was almost perfectly straight.<p>

"How was Raven?" Erik asked. They had called the house the day before but Charles had merely said that everything was 'fine' and left it at that.

"I'm not sure," Charles replied. "She said that something felt wrong and Hank was getting restless. She said 'like a dog gets before an earthquake' and I heard Hank say 'hey that's not funny' but my sister's sense of humor isn't what I'm worried about."

"You think they are in danger?" Erik tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and waited for the order to turn around.

"I don't know. I told her to trust her judgment, but if there was any doubt at all, to hide. She seemed much more willing to do that this time so something must be wrong." Charles sighed and closed his eyes. "If I'm not there and something happened..."

"Let's turn around. We can try this again some other time," Erik said pausing to turn the car around and head in the other direction. "We're not doing so well this time so let's take a break for a few days at the house and recuperate." Charles looked away from the window and smiled. The road was still quiet as they rode along in silence. Normally they would have had a conversation about something but Charles did not seem to be in the mood for talking. Ahead Erik could see two trucks coming from the other direction. As they got closer he began to feel metal, lots more than there should have been, and Charles sat up in his chair.

"Erik, move!" he screamed and Erik veered right just as one of the cars was going to hit them. Both of the cars turned in the road and began to pursue them. Charles had his fingers on his temple when a string of bullets fired at the car, shattering the back window. Erik ground his teeth together as he tried to steer the car with his powers but the cars were too close and he could not react fast enough. Charles put his fingers to his temples again and jerked back like he had been physically hit.

"I can't drive and stop the bullets," Erik said and they continued to fire.

"I can't get control of them. Something is blocking me." Charles tried to look around the seat to see their pursuers but a bullet whizzed by, narrowing missing him, and out the front window. One of the cars was behind them and slammed into the back bumper. The second moved to the side as they both tried to run them off of the road. Erik held a hand up and managed to shove the car next to them back several feet but the one behind them continued to give chase. He felt helpless because this should be something he could handle. Erik glanced at Charles who was slouched in the seat trying to keep as low as he could. The smell of rubber filled the air as one of their tires burst. One more hit from the car sent them off the road. Erik was sure he called Charles' name as the world faded to black.

Erik opened his eyes slowly. Their car had landed on its wheels but was smashed beyond repair. Everything ached and he could feet the burn from the seat belt on his neck. Nothing seemed broken but his ears were ringing nevertheless. Erik turned and a lump formed in his throat. Charles was still in his seat, unconscious, with a deep cut on his head that was bleeding freely. It had already soaked the collar of his shirt. Without thinking Erik kicked his door open and stepped out only to crumple to his feet. The entire world spun and Erik had to struggle to remain conscious, stumbling over to the other side of the car. The door peeled open and he carefully removed his friend from the seat. He was breathing and that was a relief.

The cars that had followed them pulled up just a few feet away. Erik could feel the metal of their guns and was about to turn them against the men when a pain struck his mind. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard, like screaming in his ears, and he knew that sound. Emma Frost emerged from the car and walked over to them, several armed guards a foot behind her. Erik took his hands off of his ears to confront her when the pain got worse. It was enough to knock him to his knees and she stood over them.

"Erik, is it? So nice to see you again though you and your telepath friend have looked better," Emma said as she looked down at Charles.

"Stay away from him," Erik growled out and instead of being threatened or concerned she looked amused.

"Oh, sweetie, this is no time to play hero." Emma stood and watched as another man got out of the car. His suit was pressed, his hair carefully in place and Erik wanted to kick himself.

"Mr. Lehnsherr, I don't believe we've met yet. I'm Director McCone, director the CIA. I'm sure you remember my subordinate Moira MacTaggert." McCone stood there calmly as if there was nothing wrong. "I'm sure you can figure out why I'm here."

"You're afraid," Erik said through his teeth, "and you should be." The soldiers behind McCone raised their guns but Emma laughed softly.

"Are you sure you can stop all of those bullets?" she asked as McCone moved out of the way. "You are in a great deal of pain right now and what would happen if just one got by?" They were baiting him, trying to get him to react so they could kill him, and Erik knew that. Emma was still in his head, he could feel her, and now she was beginning to dig around in his memories. She raised an eyebrow and looked amused.

"Men, half of you switch your target from Mr. Lehnsherr to Mr. Xavier on the ground here. If we get lucky we'll hit one of them," Emma said and Erik could feel half of the guns focus on Charles.

"I thought you didn't betray your own kind," Erik said as his voice cracked. Emma walked over and knelt down in front him looking amused.

"You already did that the moment you killed my leader. I know when to align with the right people, Erik, and the right people right now are the CIA. Now unless you agree to come with us I'm going to tell those men to fire and we can see if you can stop all of those bullets." Emma moved off to the side and nodded at the soldiers. The pain in his head was beginning to make his vision blur and he could hardly form coherent thought. Even if he ran on instinct there was still a chance that one could get through. An image of Charles smiling, laughing blossomed and Erik knew Emma was trying to distract him more.

"Stop," Erik managed to say and there was no pressure on the triggers now. McCone walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Maybe you people can be reasoned with," the human said. Erik was about say something when a voice traveled over the noise in his head. _Sleep__, __Erik__, __sleep__, __we__'__ll __see __each __other __soon_. The noise began to fade but Emma's influence made the entire world fall to black again as he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The world slowly began to come back into focus as Erik opened his eyes. The first thing he realized was that the room he was in was almost completely metal proof. It was like someone had cut off a limb and now he only had the phantom feeling remained. The second thing he noticed was that his hands were bound above his head attached to a plastic bar. Erik tugged on it carefully and it did not give or bend. His entire body screamed in protest; nothing felt broken but he was going to be very sore for days.<p>

"Ah, you're awake," a voice said. Erik looked up to see Emma Frost sitting on the edge of a small bed and sleeping on that bed was Charles. Immediately Erik began to pull on his restraints but they held. "Oh will you stop that. You're projecting loud enough that a carnival fortune teller could hear you. Have some dignity."

"What do you want?" Erik asked his voice much rougher than he had intended.

"There are plenty of things that I want, Erik, but that doesn't mean I'm here to get any of them. Not from you anyway." Emma turned her attention back to Charles and she looked almost thoughtful. "If there was one thing I learned from Sebastian Shaw, it was that people fear what they don't understand. It's ignorance and he was right that they are going to fight their own extinction."

"So why are you working for them? You've gone from being the puppet of a mad doctor to the puppet of a bunch of weak humans?" Erik held his tongue because he was not the only one that was helpless right now. Emma did not look insulted; if anything she almost looked thoughtful.

"Do you know why you're here?" Emma asked. "You are here because they are afraid, and with good reason, I should think. Like you, for example, they are afraid of you. They watched you lift an entire submarine out of the ocean and carry it in mid air. They watched you stop dozens of rockets in the air and nearly fire them back at two armed vessels. They think you could take control of a nuclear warhead and fire it at any city you want. Judging by the way you nearly tossed those missiles back at those ships I think they are justified in being afraid. I'm sure you can understand."

"So, what, they think they can lock me up forever?" Erik scoffed, "They are fools if they think they can keep me here." Emma laughed softly and he narrowed his eyes. "Do you doubt that I can't escape from here?"

"Oh no, I don't doubt. I just think it's rather funny," Emma replied. "And egotistical of you to think that you were the one they were after in the first place." She reached down and touched Charles' cheek lightly. "They are afraid of you but they are terrified of him. He sent back one of their agents with no memories of the time she spent with you. He can read minds and influence people. He could tell the leaders of every major nation to fire all of their weapons or bankrupt their countries. You could change where the missiles might go but he could have them fired in the first place." Erik felt his throat grow dry as she looked fondly at Charles, as if she almost admired him, and that scared him far more than the impending CIA members. "You were just a bonus."

"What are they going to do to him?" he managed to ask.

"They want me to learn to control him," Emma replied and Charles began to stir. The smile that crossed her lips should have been sinister but she seemed almost glad. Emma crawled onto the bed and straddled Charles' hips; Erik felt his blood run cold.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to take his virtue or anything like that; I know you want to be the one to do so." Emma sat back on her heels, not touching Charles in any way, and did not move. Erik held his breath as the other man began to stir and when his eyes opened Emma snatched his wrists and pinned them to the bed. "Good evening, Professor Xavier. How nice to see you again."

"What are you doing?" Charles asked instead of 'where am I' and 'what happened' like any rational person would do.

"We stitched up that nasty cut on your forehead and you might be a little sore from that wreck but you're going to be fine. Your little friend over there will be as well," Emma said and the 'for now' was implied. Still Charles did not look away from her and they were locked in a stare. If they were having some sort of conversation telepathically then they did not make it obvious. "Erik over here should be in the loop as well so why don't we make this easier for both of us?" Erik was about to ask what she meant by that when Emma leaned down and locked lips with Charles. It was not a needy or desperate or even passionate kiss but they were kissing nevertheless. At that point Erik could not care less if if he was projecting loud screams at both of them, he wanted Emma to get away from Charles. Emma released Charles' wrists and climbed off of the bed, slowly turning to Erik. "This is how this is going to work. I'm going to untie you, but you're not going to attack me."

"And why would I let you just walk away?" he growled, his eyes still locked on Charles who had closed his eyes, breathing evenly.

"Because until you let me leave I'm going to do this," Emma replied and Charles cried out in pain clutching his head. "It hurts more for him because his mind is much more sensitive. I can stand here all day if need be or you can let me untie you and walk out of the room and his pain will end." Erik could only watch as Charles thrashed on the bed, clutching his head so tightly that his nails were digging into his scalp.

"Fine, fine, just stop hurting him," Erik conceded and Emma smiled as she pulled his bindings apart.

"Stay right where you are until I'm out of the room or I'll make it worse," she warned and she walked backwards until the door snapped shut until the door snapped shut behind her. Immediately Charles relaxed on the bed, breathing hard, and Erik nearly ran to his side.

"I'm fine, I'm okay," Charles said winded.

"What did she do to you?" Erik touched the telepath's hand carefully but Charles shook his head.

"She attacked me normally and what she did earlier-" he cut himself off. "It was a much more direct way of her telling me everything I needed to know. We were linked completely and I know everything she knows." For one brief moment Erik thought it would work to their advantage but he must have been projecting again because Charles shook his head. "No, there is nothing she knows that can help us. This room is surrounded by mirrors and it has locked me out. The mirrors are covered by this plaster and even if you broke one mirror there are layers of them. There is no metal, nothing substantial to help us." Charles took Erik's hand and held on as if for dear life. His eyes had that same far away look he always did when he went too deep or was using Cerebro for too long. Erik never liked that look; it made him feel like Charles was not really with him. "Erik, we're in trouble." It seemed like an obvious statement but judging by the way Charles' voice almost cracked when he said it Erik did not want to imagine what they were in for.

* * *

><p>The bed was barely big enough for both of them and while Emma knew the extent of their relationship that did not mean the CIA did. Charles argued that if Erik slept on the floor then he should as well but after a few steady and strong glares the telepath gave up. Charles did eventually fall asleep, he tossed and turned though, but Erik stared at the ceiling. There were people moving around outside but none of them had any metal that he could manipulate. There were tiny wires for the light that hung above them but it was still not enough. There was someone stationed outside their door at all times, each one more restless than the other, and he guessed that they changed shifts every two hours. Even if he tried to move someone the person keeping watch would make things less than pleasant for him.<p>

The door to their cell opened and Charles jerked awake. Within seconds he was clutching his head again, wincing painfully, as Emma and McCone walked into the room. Erik was on his feet and put himself between them and Charles. Not that it made much of a difference with Emma in the room. Her ice blue eyes were locked on Charles and it took a lot of self control to keep from attacking both of them.

"Ah, Mr. Lehnsherr, good to see you awake," McCone said and there was no metal on him. No fillings, nothing on his clothes, they were both completely metal free and it set his teeth on edge.

"What do you want?" Erik asked evenly.

"Miss Frost already explained this to you but I'm afraid you have both been flagged as national security risks. For that you must be held until we decide how to deal with your..." McCone winced as if there was a bad taste in his mouth, '''problems.' Until then you will be detained for further questioning."

"We stopped a war. How does that make us a security risk?" Erik said clenching his fists but Charles whimpered in pain behind him. He wanted to know more about this but he was not sure how much more pain Charles could take.

"It would be in both of your best interests to not resist our methods." McCone nodded to Emma and they both left the room. When the door slammed shut Charles relaxed but he was panting as if he had just run a marathon. Erik did not have any words of comfort. He could not imagine what it must have been like if it was worse for Charles, but he did take the telepath's hand and hold it tightly.

Several hours later their door was once again kicked in but there was no sign of Emma. Charles looked almost relieved but froze as his fingers reached for his temple. The soldiers were wearing helmets and if Charles' reaction was anything to go by they were the same type that Shaw had worn. _Emma __must __have __given __them __the __specs_, Erik thought to himself as they grabbed both of his arms. Despite the pain in his ribs Erik fought against them as they dragged him from the room. A few steps behind him two more dragged Charles along. To his credit the other man was fighting as well, though not as successfully, but he did not say a word when he was hauled into a room.

A few doors down they shoved Erik into a room and threw him down into a chair. He was still trying to throw the men off when one snatched his hair and tilted his head back painfully.

"We already know you don't give a shit what happens to you but it'll make things a lot easier on that other freak if you sit tight," the soldier hissed.

"Call me a freak again and see what happens," Erik replied calmly. They twisted his hands behind his back painfully, binding them with a zip tie tight enough that Erik could feel it digging into his wrists. The silence was worse when they left him alone with his thoughts. There were only so many things they could try to get out of him and they had Charles as leverage. _I __wouldn__'__t __be __surprised __if __they __used __me __as __leverage __against __Charles_, Erik thought as he looked around the room. He could feel metal but it was very far away, another building perhaps, but there was no natural light that he could see. Either they were underground or they had blocked out the windows for dramatic effect. Raven did not expect them to check in for what he guessed was another day or so but he had a feeling that it might not be necessary. The first place they were going to check would be Charles' estate and, as much as he did not want to admit it, Erik knew he would give in much easier if they threatened a bunch of kids.

The door opened and McCone walked in with another man. Once again neither of them had any trace of metal on them and never before had Erik wished someone had fillings. McCone stood a few feet away and he almost looked a little bored.

"Now, Mr. Lehnsherr, all you need to do is tell me where the rest of you are," he said and Erik could not suppress his laugh. "What is so funny?"

"There are millions of us, Director, so I don't know why you think I would know where all of them are. For all you know someone in this facility is a mutant," Erik replied and he barely winced when the soldier backhanded him. He tasted blood but Erik just shook his head.

"Fine. We have already searched Professor Xavier's estate and there was no one there. There was evidence that other people were living there, teenagers from the looks of it, recently. Where are they?" McCone asked.

"Going to let this guy do your dirty work? Wouldn't want to ruin that suit of yours with my tainted blood." The soldier hit him again across the cheek and then pulled back to hit him again with his elbow. The blow was hard and Erik saw stars for a moment but this was nothing compared to all of those years with Shaw.

"Tell me where those things are," McCone said and he sounded annoyed.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Erik replied. McCone looked angry and nodded to the soldier. The punch to his temple made Erik's ears ring but it was the punch to his stomach that really hurt. The pain from the punch was enough to convince him that nothing was broken but his body was still a mess of bruises from the accident. Despite how much it hurt Erik forced himself to breathe deeply; Erik knew better than to let pain show because that just encouraged people like this. If they knew that they were hurting him they would push the boundaries even more because they would think they were getting somewhere. The kick to his shin, with what felt like steel toed boots, sent white hot pain up his entire leg and Erik nearly bit through his tongue. He refused to yield to these people. If the mansion was empty then the kids must have gone somewhere safe before the raid. _Good __job__. __I__'__ll __have __to __give __them __some __credit __for __that __one__,_ but his thoughts were interrupted by a hand around his throat steadying his head so he could look into McCone's eyes.

"The more you resist, the worse this is going to get," McCone said quietly and Erik was tempted to say 'is that a promise or a threat' but even that seemed a little too cliche. Instead he swallowed the blood down and did not say a thing. The soldier released his throat and Erik was sure there were going to be finger shaped bruises there in a few hours. The knife they used to cut his bindings must have been made of the same metal as the helmets because Erik could not manipulate it. Another soldier came into the room and they both held his arms. "We'll see you again tomorrow." Erik stopped himself from saying 'looking forward to it' as they dragged him down the hallway. When they passed Charles' room he snuck a peek through the small glass on the door and he froze.

Charles was bound to a table with restraints, like those in a hospital, and he was fighting against them. His body contorted and thrashed against the bonds and he was wincing as if in extreme pain. Emma was on the other side of him, behind his head, her hands on his temples, her forehead pressed to his and her eyes closed. Erik saw red and he violently pulled against his captors. Emma blinked and looked up, meeting his eyes from across the room. Her features were stone cold, revealing nothing and Emma turned her attention back to Charles. It took four men to drag Erik from the door.

For what he guessed was another hour he was alone, waiting for them to bring Charles back. Erik pushed the thought out of his mind that they might not bring him back at all because that just could not happen. When the door opened Erik had to move at lightning speed to catch Charles before he collapsed to the ground. The weight of another person was enough to send Erik crumpling to the floor as well but at least Charles didn't face plant on the floor.

"Thank you, Erik," Charles said as he slowly moved out of Erik's arms. His face was flushed but Erik did not see any physical wounds save for marks from the restraints. Charles touched his split lip carefully with the tip of his finger and he suddenly looked sad. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? The humans are the one's that are doing this, not you," Erik replied but he knew that was not what Charles was apologizing for.

"They were after me, not you. Maybe if they had just caught me they wouldn't have gone after you." It was a lie and they both knew that but Charles seemed hell bent on blaming himself for this. Erik rested his forehead against his friend's because he could not think of anything else to do. _What__are__they__trying__to__do__?_ he thought hoping Charles was not too frazzled to hear.

_She __is __trying __to __break__down __the __shields __I__'__ve __made __over __the __years __to __keep __people __out __of __my __head__. __They __seem __to __think __that __without __them __she __can __control __me__,_ Charles replied silently though his voice shook a bit.

_Does __it __work __that __way__?_ Erik closed his eyes and tried to project a sense of calm for both of them.

_I __don__'__t __know__, __honestly__, __but __those __shields __are __what __keep __me __from __hearing __and __feeling __everything __around __me__. __Without __them__-_ Charles cut himself off because the implications were clear; without them the potential for Charles to be overwhelmed again were high. Erik struggled not to think of that night with Cerebro or what Raven had told him but when Charles sighed he knew he had failed. They stayed like that until they were too tired to move. Charles insisted Erik sleep in the bed that night and, despite how hard he tried, he could not fight the exhaustion away.

* * *

><p>The torture went on for almost five days. Erik knew his face was a mess of bruises and cuts that never healed because they were just replaced by new ones. They had managed to bruise a few of his ribs and it hurt to move but it was nothing he could not handle. They were still asking about the children and he would not feed a bunch of teenagers to these dogs even if it meant losing his life. The bruises, the broken bones, Erik had gone through all of this before and he knew he could make it through.<p>

Charles, on the other hand, did not seem to be faring as well. They had not touched him physically save for the self inflicted bruises on his wrists and ankles from the restraints, but he seemed to be getting further and further away. They might have been locked in the mirror room but Erik could tell that something was wrong. Whatever they were doing to him seemed to be either working or making things worse. Erik did not dare push the issue and just held Charles' hand when he struggled through a nightmare. Three days in Charles mentioned that they had replaced Emma with someone else and the way he described having this person in his head sent chills down Erik's spine.

"When Emma was in my head she moved around as if she was hardly there at all. I could feel her trying to break down the shields but she was always graceful almost in the way she looked around. This new person, they pick and tear, they try to bring up memories and feelings to try and break me down. Emma never did that; she never tried to use my own memories against me."

"Never thought I'd say that I miss Emma Frost," Erik mumbled but Charles did not reply. The telepath was completely silent for the rest of the night and Erik fell asleep leaning against a wall.

Something in the air woke him up and Erik opened his eyes to see Emma in their cell leaning over Charles like she used to her hands on his temples. He got up with every intention of hurting her in every way possible when she looked up. Her eyes were dull, her skin sickly white and she looked almost exhausted. For some reason it made him stop short of rushing at her and he felt no pull that she had planted the idea in his mind. Charles was on the bed, eyes closed, jerking like he did when he was in a nightmare and he did not relax when Emma pulled away.

"Thank you for giving me a chance to explain myself," she said tiredly.

"You have ten seconds before I start breaking things," Erik warned her and she smiled sadly looking down at Charles.

"They took him away from me because I wasn't working fast enough. I never wanted to break him or hurt him like this; I wanted to keep him so I could learn everything he knows. I was being 'too gentle' so they brought in this other telepath whose name I don't know. They are digging in his head and they are not taking the time to make sure his mind remains intact. They don't care that they could drive him to the breaking point." Emma looked at Charles as she spoke but did not touch him.

"And you were here torturing him more because?" Erik clenched his fists ready to rush at this woman the first chance he got.

"I'm not torturing him. If I was he would be screaming with the state his mind is in now. I was trying to anchor him, keep him grounded, fix some of the damage before it's too late. I could not care less if you don't believe me, Erik, but he is going to die without my help. They can't break his shields, I know they can't, but they won't stop until he's dead." Emma moved and Charles clasped her hand tightly as if it was a lifeline. In the last five days Charles had never reached for him like that. "Come here." Erik moved cautiously toward them; she was not armed that he could tell but that would not stop her from lashing out with her mind. "Take his other hand and talk to him."

_Charles__, __can __you __hear __me__?_ Erik thought trying to keep his voice as quiet as possible.

_Yes__, __I __can __hear __you__, _Charles replied but his voice sounded broken. _She __is __helping__, __Erik__, __she __is__. __I __know __you __don__'__t __trust __her __and __I __don__'__t __either __but __I __don__'__t __have __a __choice__. __Let __her __help __me__, __please__._ In all of the time he had known Charles and been in his head Erik had never heard him so desperate. He released the telepath's hand and looked at Emma.

"If he looks like he is even remotely in pain you will not like what happens next," Erik said dangerously.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Emma replied smiling softly. Charles released her hand and Emma pressed her forehead to his hands on Charles' temples. He was in pain but it was not from what was happening right now. Instead he seemed to be getting better, settling down, movements less jerky and extreme. When Charles went almost completely still he opened his eyes and reached behind him to touch Emma's cheek.

"Stop, you're going to hurt yourself," Charles said and for the first time in days he sounded like himself again. Erik felt the tension drain from his shoulders as he moved to sit next to Charles. Emma moved away slowly but she looked terrible as if she was going to be ill. Charles still sounded distant and his eyes were not entirely focused on the world around him but he was coherent at the very least. "She needs to lie down."

"You need to lie down more," Erik insisted because he really did not care what happened to Emma Frost right now.

"Erik," Charles was using that voice that he used when Erik was projecting something that was not entirely nice.

"I'm fine, really, I have somewhere I can go lie down." Emma stood swaying to the side before Erik caught her without thinking twice.

_Erik__, __I__'__m __going __to __be __okay __for __a __little __while __longer __thanks __to __her__. __I __know __you __don__'__t __like __the __idea __but __she __needs __to __lie __down__, _Charles thought as he sat up slowly.

_I__'__m __not __putting __her __anywhere __near __you__, __let__alone__in__the__same__bed_, Erik thought back and he really had thought he was beyond petty jealously.

_Do __you __trust __me__?_ Charles asked which was a stupid question really. Erik was going to berate him for asking such a question but Charles did not give him time. _Then __trust __me __now__. __What __we __have __and __how __I __feel __about __you __is __not __going __to __change __because __a __woman __is __in __my __bed__. _ Erik really wanted to disagree, to argue, but Charles was looking at him stubbornly and he knew that there was not going to be any use fighting this. Charles moved so he was on the edge of the bed and Emma looked confused.

"No, I can't-"

"It's all right," Erik managed to say. "You helped him so the least I, we, can do is let you lie down." Emma glanced down at the bed and then to Erik; she looked grateful.

"Thank you." Emma climbed into the bed on her side facing Charles. She hesitated and rested a hand on Charles' chest but before Erik could disagree they were both asleep. Erik watched them carefully for a few minutes but nether of them were moving. _An __anchor__, __she __said__, __to __keep __him __grounded_ and Erik wondered if that had something to do with this as well. By his calculations they had several hours before anyone would check on them. Erik sat down on the floor near the end of the bed, leaned back against the wall, and closed his eyes.

* * *

><p>Erik opened his eyes slowly and looked over to see that Emma was gone. He was not entirely surprised but it was worrisome that he had not heard her leave. Erik was a light sleeper and the fact that she could get in and out of the room without him hearing made him distrust her even more. His back and neck were sore from the previous day and sleeping against a wall. Erik let himself wince as he stood and walked over to the bed. Charles was still asleep but he only moved in his sleep a little, not the violent thrashes of the last few days. He truly seemed better and that was the best thing that Erik could ask for. In the last few days he had slept on the floor because he had not wanted their captors to know what they meant to each other. Now he was standing over Charles with room on the bed and no longer cared. The man had almost died, could still die, they both could, and Erik really just wanted to hold Charles while he was tortured by his own powers.<p>

He climbed into the space where Emma Frost had been mere hours ago (_I__'__m __not __going __to __think __about __that__, __I__'__m __not_) and Charles stirred, his eyes opening.

"Erik? What are you doing?" he asked and he sounded half asleep. "What if someone-"

"Let them. I don't care anymore," Erik replied and Charles turned so they were nose to nose. Charles reached over and brushed his thumb over what was surely a bruise on Erik's cheekbone. _This __isn__'__t __your __fault__,_ Erik projected.

_Thank __you__,_ Charles replied, not agreeing or disagreeing. Erik closed the distance between them and kissed Charles lightly. It was barely a press of chapped and bruised lips but the point was made. Charles settled into Erik's embrace and was soon asleep. It would have been easy for him to fall asleep like this but Erik could not trust that with those people outside. So instead he listened to Charles' breathing, sometimes erratic and sometimes gentle, and held on a little tighter when he jerked as if slapped from a nightmare.

They were not like that long when the door swung open and three men including McCone walked in. They were all wearing helmets identical to Shaw's and god did Erik wish he could crush those around the skull of these humans. They were both out of bed in a second as Erik tried to put some space between the two of them and these men; McCone narrowed his eyes.

"So, it is true, someone did help you, Xavier. You were nowhere near this coherent yesterday and yet here you are, looking better than you have in days. Someone looked through the window this morning and said you looked different so I had to see for myself," McCone said and he sounded annoyed.

"Maybe I just learned to block your telepath out and got a good night's rest," Charles spit out angrily.

"I doubt that though it probably helped that you two were wrapped in each other," McCone said disgustedly. "On top of being a mutant now I learn you're faggots too." Erik wanted to say something rather unpleasant but stopped when the two soldiers walked forward and yanked him away from Charles. Another soldier came in and twisted Charles' arm painfully behind his back; it was the first time they had touched him violently.

"Stay away from him," Erik said through his teeth but the men just held him tighter.

"We will if he complies," McCone said cracking his knuckles. He strolled over to Erik and punched him hard enough that Erik could only think _wow, he's a lot stronger than I thought he would be_. The CIA director pulled back and punched him again. This time Erik could taste blood. "Now, Doctor Xavier, all you need to do is tell me how to break down those precious shields of yours and we'll let Mr. Lehnsherr go."

_Don__'__t __you __dare__, _Erik warned as loudly as he could and he knew he got the point across when Charles physically winced.

"They don't work like that. You were never even close to touching them; you were just picking at my mind until I almost went insane," Charles replied and it was obvious he was trying t o keep his voice even. McCone pulled out a plastic baton and hit Erik in the torso with it so hard that Erik almost lost consciousness from his bruised ribs. "Stop, I'm telling you the truth." Charles sounded a little more desperate.

"And I don't believe you," McCone said and he punched Erik again, this time in the mouth, and Erik's teeth slammed together so hard that it echoed in his mind like a gunshot. Between all of his injuries Erik could see the edges of his vision begin to darken. "Oh no, Mr. Lehnsherr, I can't have you passing out on me." McCone turned and stood in front of Charles who looked furious. "I'm going to guess that you kept this whole torrid romance from us because you thought we would use you against each other. Like any half decent mind reader you were right." The sound of Charles grunting in pain was enough to snap Erik out of his daze. There was already a dark bruise forming on the telepath's cheekbone when McCone hit Charles in the stomach hard enough that it knocked all of the breath out of him. The man holding Charles in place let him collapse to his knees as he gasped for air.

So you," McCone pointed to Charles, "are telling me that there is no way to bring down your barriers, and you," he pointed to Erik, "are refusing to give up the location of your fellow mutants." Neither of them responded and McCone just looked between them. "Time for Plan B then." McCone walked over and knelt in front of Charles, holding his chin roughly in place so they were eye to eye. "Mr. Lehnsherr we're going to keep as a pet for a while, but you? I have better plans for you." McCone leaned forward and whispered in Charles' ear. The telepath's eyes went wide and he paled considerably.

"No, you can't do that, I'll-"

"I no longer care what happens to you. Apparently we just need more time and this is how I plan on getting it." McCone looked at the three men in the room and they dropped the two mutants to the floor roughly. Erik groaned in pain and wondered how long it would take for them to kill him. Charles crawled over and pulled Erik's head into his lap, running his fingers through Erik's hair.

"What did he say? What are they going to do?" he asked despite the fact that he knew he was not going to like what he heard.

"They're going to put me into a medically induced coma until they can figure out how to control me," Charles replied and he did not stop running his fingers through the other man's hair. "Something like that will either kill me or trap me in my own head with nothing to keep me occupied but my nightmares." He paused and Erik looked up to see him squeezing his eyes shut. "They're doing it tomorrow." The realization that he was going to lose Charles in less than twenty-four hours hit him worse than any recent punch to the gut had. It stole his breath because all he could think about was how he had spent the last week futilely searching for a way out. He could not think of anything to do, or even to say to someone who knew that they were either going to die or spend years trapped in their own mind.

It hurt to move but Erik forced himself to sit up. Charles did not move, he looked almost shell shocked, and did not acknowledge Erik's movement. Instead he looked up when Erik touched his cheek and they stared into each other's eyes.

_I__'__m __going __to __get __you __out __of __here__. __I__'m __not __going __to __let __this __happen__; __I __promise_, Erik projected his voice as evenly as possible.

_You __shouldn__'__t __make __promises __you __can__'__t __keep_, Charles replied. Erik did not know what to say next, anything that could be comforting, so he kissed Charles' forehead lightly. Even if it killed him he was going to get the other man out of here. He would not let Charles spend the rest of his life trapped in his own mind.

* * *

><p>Neither of them slept that night. Charles spent the night resting his cheek on Erik's shoulder and Erik spent the night going over every piece of information he knew about this place. He was convinced that there had to be some way out of here. Between the two of them they were the most powerful mutants in the world. There had to be some form of escape. If Charles knew anything he was not sharing the information and even if he did Erik did not see any reason to hide it now. With his own life on the line and Erik's future as a lab rat there was no point in holding anything back.<p>

The sound of movement in the hallway made Erik tense up. It was too soon, there was not enough time, and he was ready to fight tooth and nail against these people. The door opened and Erik was more than surprised to see Emma Frost walk through the door.

"We need to go," Emma said.

"What are you doing here?" Erik said standing and helping Charles to his feet.

"I know what they are going to do to him and I won't allow it." Emma looked at Charles. "Someone as powerful as you does not deserve this." Charles glanced at Erik and back to Emma.

"Even if she's lying we won't get another chance," Charles said. Emma nodded and the three of them walked out of the room. Charles stumbled when he walked outside and Erik took his arm. "Sorry, I can feel people, and it's a little overwhelming."

"We don't have much time," Emma said looking over her shoulder. Erik and Charles followed her through the long hallway but Erik still felt empty. There was still almost no metal in the area and he still had no weapons. Charles had his fingers to his temple but he was still wincing.

_What__'__s __wrong__? _Erik thought.

_There __are __minds __here __but __I __can __barely __feel __them__. __I __don__'__t __know __if __there __is __anyone __I __can __control __to __help __us_, Charles replied.

"Save the conversations for later, boys, when we're out of here," Emma said. They turned around corner after0corner and even with his with his excellent memory for maps Erik was having trouble keeping track of where they were. Emma was turning and moving like she knew where she was going but there was no way of knowing if they were being led into a trap. They turned a corner into a large room with several doors leading out. For the first time since they had escaped from the cell Emma hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Erik asked because they could not stay here.

"There are several exits but most of them are guarded. They'll be wearing the helmets and won't have any metal on them. I don't know if we can take all of them even with my diamond form," Emma replied. There was the sound of movement behind them and Charles looked over his shoulder.

"I don't think we have time to think about it too much," Charles said.

"Let's go," Emma said. They began to run down another one of the hallways but Erik could hear the footsteps behind them that were beginning to gain on them. Emma turned a corner and was thrown into a wall. Her skin shifted into diamonds but the soldiers swarmed her. Erik was not going to let this opportunity pass them by. There were not going to be any other chances, he was sure of it, and he was not going to be a lab rat for the rest of his life. He was not going to let these people lock Charles in his own mind. When Emma punched a soldier Erik swore he heard bone snap. Two soldiers charged at him and Erik clenched his fists tightly; two swift punches and they were both down on the ground. His knuckles were starting to ache as he hit anyone that came near them. Erik could see Charles out of the corner of his eyes hitting anyone that managed to slip by Erik and shaking out his fist. Charles had a surprisingly good right hook. They were out numbered and it was not long until they were overwhelmed. Emma's diamond form shattered as four men twisted Erik's arms hard enough that he thought they were going to break.

"McCone wants the telepaths taken care of right away," one of the soldiers said. "Take Miss Frost somewhere safe and it's time to send Professor Xavier to see a doctor." Erik felt his blood run cold as Charles struggled to get away from the men holding him in place. There was no metal anywhere and there was nothing Erik could do. Emma and Charles were both dragged out of sight as four soldiers pulled Erik down a hallway. He wanted to pull the entire facility down around him, he wanted to destroy the entire building brick by brick, and if given the chance he was going to do just that.

The soldiers shoved Erik into a small room with a large window looking into a room with a single hospital bed. Several people were wandering throughout the room though they were not wearing helmets. That seemed odd to Erik but he was not going to say anything if these people were setting themselves up for Charles to take control.

"I decided to let you witness this," McCone's voice said over an intercom.

"You will not like what happens if you make me watch this," Erik warned but all that followed was a chuckle.

"Mr. Lehnsherr, you haven't been threatening in days. We aren't afraid of you, so you can keep the theatrics to yourself." Through another window to his left Erik watched as two people dragged Charles into another room. He was fighting against them with everything he had but they were just too strong for him. One of the soldiers hit Charles in the back of the neck and he crumpled to the floor but something made the hairs on the back of Erik's neck stand on end. As Charles fell to the floor he locked eyes with Erik in a way that seemed too direct to be a coincidence. The soldiers picked the telepath off the ground and dragged him into the room with the doctors.

"This is your last warning, McCone; you do not want to do this. You are vastly underestimating me and the depths of my rage." Erik could not tear his eyes away from the scene before him. Doctors moved Charles onto the bed, inserted an IV, plastic needle, into his arm. They did not have any monitoring devices because there was no way to metal proof those. The soldiers with the helmets left but stayed in the room next to Erik, watching him very carefully. Not caring what they thought Erik walked directly up to the glass wishing he could control something other than metal.

"We're ready to make the injection, sir," one of the doctors said.

"Proceed," McCone's voice said and Erik clenched his fists tight enough that he could feel his nails biting into the palms of his hands. The doctor went to push the drugs into Charles' body but stopped. He moved so he was blocking Erik's view but he saw the man's thumb move to empty the syringe but his movements did not seem as fluid; something was not right.

"It's done," the doctor said as he took Charles' wrist to count a pulse. The wounds on his palms were deep enough that they were going to take days to heal and Erik _could__not__do__anything_. The doctor turned and looked directly at Erik. "He's just fine." The soldiers next door pulled off their helmets and set them aside looking almost relieved that Charles was incapacitated but something was still not right and Erik could not shake the feeling. The soldiers moved into his room and grabbed his arms to hold him in place and Erik did not fight them because for some reason it did not seem like it would do any good.

The doctors removed Charles' IV which did not seem like a good idea. They were trying to keep him in a coma and that would require regular doses from the drug. Instead they stood on either side of Charles without moving and Erik nearly jumped out of his skin when Charles opened his eyes and sat up in the bed, two fingers moving to his temple. He smirked at Erik and walked through the doors with the two doctors following close behind. The door opened and Charles stood there as if he had all the time in the world.

"Sorry that took so long but I had to make sure I put on a show in there for McCone. As of right now he is strolling toward the area on his way to see you and gloat a little. I would rather not be here when he arrives," Charles said and he nodded at the two soldiers who released Erik. He was in all of their heads like it was nothing. "I was in yours for a moment there and for that I apologize. I didn't want you to hurt yourself or these two lovely gentlemen since they are going to escort us out." That explained why he had not wanted to fight despite everything that had just happened.

"How did you-never mind, it doesn't matter. Are we really going to just walk out of here? It seems like it can't be that easy," Erik said as he tried to clear his head.

"I don't see why not," Charles replied shrugging. "Shall we?" Charles walked into the hallway as the two soldiers took up positions in front and behind them of them. Erik stared as they walked throughout the hallway. When they rounded a corner two soldiers drew their weapons to fire but Charles kept his fingers to his temple; they crumpled to the ground as if they were boneless. Erik could only stare as men and women fell to the ground as they walked through the halls. Charles seemed to know where he was going until he stopped in front of a door.

"What are we doing? We need to get out of here. I don't think even you can freeze this entire facility," Erik said.

"Emma Frost is in this cell. We need to free her," Charles replied.

"What? Why would we do that? She is the reason we were here in the first place. Why would you want to free her?" Erik glared at the door wishing it was metal so he could seal it shut like a safe.

"Because without her I'd be dead and I can't leave anyone to this place willingly." Charles took his hand and squeezed it. "She's coming with us, Erik, but only through the exit." Erik was going to protest more when Charles had one of the soldiers open the door. Emma was in her diamond form but faded as she stared at them.

"You're escaping," she said without making it a question. She stared at them but Erik could not feel her in his mind. If she was talking without words she was not including him. "Thank you." Charles nodded and the three of them continued through the facility. Erik could feel metal and he knew there were guns around the corner. If Charles or Emma knew they made no move to prevent being shot. Erik shoved his way past the soldier and turned the corner. McCone stood behind them looking furious.

"Even if you if you escape now we will find you again. I'm not going to let people like you walk free. You're going to be corrupted by your powers and kill millions," he said, his face red. Charles glanced at Emma and she nodded. The six soldiers collapsed to the ground with that familiar expression of pain that Erik knew far too well. McCone looked terrified as he stared the three of them down. Charles walked forward fingers pressed to his temple. Erik was beginning to suspect that Charles was beginning to look a little stretched thin but the telepath was doing his best to hide it.

"You are not going to remember us. You're not going to remember why you're in this place or who we are, you're not going to remember why Moira lost her memories or what happened with the missile crisis, and you are not going to remember my face or anything about the people in front of you. When you wake up you will know your name, your rank and deep in your gut you are going to know you did something terrible but you cannot remember what it was. You're going to spend the rest of your life struggling to make amends for something you don't remember doing. Finally, you are going to cease any actions against mutants and become indifferent to the entire situation." McCone collapsed to the ground and Charles closed his eyes as the last of the soldiers collapsed.

"You are a strange man, Dr. Xavier," Emma said a little too fondly for Erik's taste. The three of them pushed their way through the door and it opened into a back alley of what appeared to be New York City. Even the polluted air and the trash smelled amazing compared to the recycled air he'd been breathing all week. Every piece of metal throughout the city seemed to sing for him and it was like that lost limb had grown back. Erik heard movement behind him and he had no time to react as Emma punched him across the jaw with a diamond fist. The blow made his teeth crack together and Erik tried to blink away the dots from his vision but the entire world was spinning. "Now that he is taken care of." Vaguely he could see Emma walk into Charles' space and stand very close to him, her diamond form dissolving slowly.

"Why did you do that?" Charles asked calmly and that annoyed Erik just a little because he was not entirely sure that his jaw was not broken.

"Because I want you to come with me," Emma replied leaning in close so they were inches apart and that was enough to get Erik onto his feet again. The explosion of pain in his mind was somehow worse than the blow to his jaw. Vaguely he heard Charles' voice in his head say _I'm okay_ but that did not seem likely. Emma was a dangerous person, ruthless, and willing to torture people and he had to stop her from hurting Charles. "You are so fascinating, Charles, and I want you to come with me. You'll be my plaything, my toy; we'll learn from each other. I'll take care of you, protect you, from that big bad world out there."

"You're going to protect me?" Charles asked and through the haze of pain Erik actually thought he sounded amused. Charles locked eyes with Emma and they stood completely still, staring at each other. The longer they stared the more the pain in Erik's head began to subside until Emma suddenly jerked back and the pain ended.

"What do you think-"

"You should leave, now, before I change my mind," Charles said smoothly. He did not yell nor did he raise his voice or even project any anger through his words yet somehow it was the most terrifying threat Erik had ever heard. Emma's eyes widened as she stared at the man before her until she turned and ran. She did not jog or walk fast; Emma Frost ran. Charles walked over and pulled Erik to his feet carefully. "Are you all right?"

"I'm going to have a rather impressive bruise on my jaw, but I'm all right," Erik replied leaning heavily on Charles because the world was still spinning a little. He wanted to ask Charles what he had said to Emma, he wanted to know what he could have threatened her with to make her run like that, but something told him that Charles would not answer. "You got us out of there without taking a single life." Charles began to walk them away from the facility toward a more populated area of the city. "I would have killed everyone in the building."

"I know, but I didn't want you to do that," Charles replied, not even winded from carrying most of Erik's weight.

"You don't like killing," Erik replied evenly.

"You're right; I don't like taking the lives of others, whether they are a human or a mutant, but that's not the only reason why I did it that way." Charles was being vague and it was not like him.

"Then why?" Erik persisted because he wanted to know what other reason Charles could possibly have had for taking such an indirect route out of the facility. They sat down on a bench on a busy street and Charles placed a hand to his temple.

"So no one can see us," he explained but Erik just stared. "I was protecting you, Erik. I was protecting you from the burden of having that much blood on your hands." Erik could not remember a time in his life when someone had protected him without any ulterior motives, yet this was the second time Charles had protected him. This telepath with limitless powers and big ideas was the last person he had ever expected to protect him from the rest of the world. Charles Xavier did not need protecting, watching him with Director McCone and Emma Frost had been proof enough of that, but that did not mean Erik was going to stop looking out for him. Charles was different, special, the kind of person that he needed to hold onto because he could not stand the thought of losing him.

"It's going to take a lot more than underestimating me to get rid of me, Erik Lehnsherr."

Erik grinned and leaned in close to Charles so his mouth was inches from the telepath's ear."Stay out of my head, Charles," Erik said quietly. "And let's go home."


End file.
